Senior Mallory Burdette and junior Nicole Gibbs are both in action at this week’s U.S. Open, with the duo facing Serena and Venus Williams this afternoon following Burdette’s second-round singles match against the Czech Republic’s Lucie Hradecka.
Both Burdette and Gibbs, the two top players in collegiate women’s tennis last year, have each won singles tournaments this summer, but only Burdette was fortunate enough to make it through the first round of this week’s major. Her 6-4, 6-3 win against Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinsky on Monday night kept her wild-card run alive.
Burdette’s singles match is set for 11 a.m. EST, and upon its completion she will join co-NCAA-doubles champion Gibbs for their meeting with the Williams sisters, a match that will not begin before 3 p.m. EST. Earlier this summer, Serena Williams handled Gibbs easily at Stanford’s own Bank of the West Classic, defeating the defending NCAA singles and doubles champion 6-2, 6-1.
—Joseph Beyda