Scoville Jenkins probably considers himself lucky to be in the U.S. Open draw at all. But he’ll need more than luck to stick around past today.

The 20-year-old junior standout from Atlanta survived three tricky matches in the Open’s qualifying tournament last week, and what did he receive as a reward? A first-round date with Roger Federer, the threetime defending champion. They are scheduled to play the third match inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, where play begins today at 11 a.m.

Before you settle in for Jenkins’s last stand, spend some time on the outer courts. Court 11 is the perfect place to start: Donald Young, the 18-year-old American who played well in New Haven last week, takes on the hard-serving Aussie Chris Guccione. On Court 7, American Robert Kendrick plays Igor Andreev, the Russian who bounced Andy Roddick out of this year’s French Open. If you want to watch a firstrate forehand up close, Andreev is your man. If you care more about good looks than forehands, wander over to Court 8 for a first-round fist-pumping contest between two Spaniards, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Feliciano Lopez.

Louis Armstrong Stadium and the Grandstand also have attractive matches in store. At Armstrong, Marcos Baghdatis, one of the most exciting players in the game, takes on Max Mirnyi, one of the game’s best doubles players and servers. When it comes to serving, though, Mirnyi has nothing on John Isner, the former University of Georgia star who reached the final of the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C., this summer behind a barrage of aces. Isner plays Jarkko Nieminen, the former top junior from Finland, in the second match inside Armstrong.

The Grandstand plays host to Nikolay Davydenko, the no. 4 player in the world (and the center of attentioninagamblinginvestigation), and Jesse Levine, who was voted college rookie of the year after going 24–1 in his freshman season at the University of Florida. Another young American, 17-year-old Alexa Glatch, continues her comeback from a broken elbow and wrist suffered in a motor scooter accident. She’ll play Marion Bartoli, the Frenchwoman who lost to Venus Williams in the Wimbledon final.

Venus and Serena Williams anchor the evening session, which will pay tribute to tennis great Althea Gibson, the first African-American to compete on the women’s tour (she died in 2003 at age 76). Venus takes the court first against Kira Nagy of Hungary, followed by Serena and Angelique Kerber of Germany.