US Open: Venus and Serena doubles is the star attraction on Thursday

The Williams sisters are two-time doubles champions at the US Open and will pair up for the first time since the 2018 French Open; the duo headline the evening session on the Arthur Ashe Stadium against Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova; Dan Evans and Cam Norrie in action earlier in the day

The Williams sisters have won Olympic gold medals in doubles as well as 14 Grand Slam doubles titles as a team

It marks the first time a first-round doubles match has featured at the marquee venue of the year's final major and the pair will play Czech duo Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova in prime time.

Older sister Venus should arrive rested after exiting the singles draw on Tuesday, but Serena may be wearier after beating second seed Anett Kontaveit on Wednesday night.

The Williams sisters have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles as a team, including two at Flushing Meadows. Their last competition together was at the French Open four years ago.

The afternoon session in the Arthur Ashe Stadium will commence with world No 1 Iga Swiatek taking on Sloane Stephens before the men's third seed Carlos Alcaraz meets Federico Coria.

Rafael Nadal's second-round encounter with the world No 60 Fabio Fognini will follow the Williams sisters on court inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium during the night session.

Dan Evans will be first on Court 12  against world No 83 James Duckworth. He'll be followed on court by fellow Brit Cam Norrie, who is taking on Portugal's Joao Sousa.

Evans swept aside Jiri Vesely 6-4 6-1 6-1 in the first round. He reached the fourth round last year and arrived at Flushing Meadows buoyed by a run to the semi-finals of the ATP Tour event in Montreal earlier this month.

The British player wrapped up his first-round win in an hour and 55 minutes and looks in excellent physical shape, dealing with the brutally hot conditions well.