MEN TO MATCH
Three different players have won grand slams in 2013: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic triumphed at the Australian Open, Rafael Nadal continued his mastery on the red clay of the French Open and Andy Murray — the defending U.S. Open champion — ended the ballyhooed British drought at Wimbledon. These three, plus two more former U.S. Open champions in aging legend Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro, are the class of the field in Flushing, owning the past nine trophies among them.
Novak Djokovic
Country: Serbia; Age: 26
Rank: 1/Open seed: 1
Best U.S. Open Result: Champion, 2011
The No. 1 player in the world is the favorite to win his second career U.S. Open. He has made the past three Open finals — losing last year to Andy Murray in an epic five-setter — and seven of the past nine grand slam finals overall. Djokovic comes in well rested, having played just two tournaments in the past two months.
Rafael Nadal
Country: Spain; Age: 27
Rank: 2/Open seed: 2
Best U.S. Open Result: Champion, 2010
Nadal missed last year’s Open nursing a chronic knee injury, but came back strong in winning his fourth straight and eighth career French Open title in June. He followed that up with a stunning first-round loss at Wimbledon, but has not lost since. Nadal won tournaments this month in Montreal and Cincinnati to bump his season haul to nine titles and run his record this year on hard courts — generally regarded as his worst surface — to an eye-opening 15-0. The No. 2 seed also has the most favorable draw.
Andy Murray
Country: Great Britain; Age: 26
Rank: 3/Open seed: 3
Best U.S. Open Result: Champion, 2012
Murray comes in as the defending champion, but there are concerns of a hangover after he met the expectations of a nation with a breakthrough title at Wimbledon. The native Scot made early exits at the hard-court preps in Montreal and Cincinnati, and has made the final of the past four majors in which he has played (he skipped the French Open).
Roger Federer
Country: Switzerland; Age: 32
Rank: 7/Open seed: 7
Best U.S. Open Result: Champion, 2004-2008
His best days behind him, Federer comes in with his lowest world ranking in almost 11 years. True, he was shocked in the second round at Wimbledon and has been to one grand slam final in the past two years, but never count out the Swiss Maestro, who owns five U.S. Open titles in his record-setting collection of 17 major crowns.
John Isner
Country: United States; Age: 28
Rank: 14/Open seed: 13
Best U.S. Open Result: Quarterfinals, 2011
The huge-serving Isner, who never has had much success in the majors, is playing some of his best tennis. He made three hard-court finals this summer, winning in Atlanta and most recently beating three top 10 players in a row before succumbing to Nadal in two tiebreakers in the final in Cincinnati. Isner, the highest-ranked American, will be one of the crowd favorites in Queens but got a brutal draw, because he would face Nadal in the third round and Federer in the fourth round.
WOMEN TO MATCH
It’s Serena Williams’ tournament to lose as she tries to do something she never has done in her career: win back-to-back U.S. Opens. Williams, a four-time champion, has not even made the finals in her three previous attempts at a repeat. But how many realistic challengers are out there?
Serena Williams
Country: United States; Age: 31
Rank: 1/Open Seed: 1
Best U.S. Open Result: Champion, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2012
In the women’s field, it’s really Serena and then everyone else. She won the Open last year and the French in June (her 16th career singles major), then followed up with a hard-court title this month in Toronto before most recently losing the final in Cincinnati to Victoria Azarenka. With Arthur Ashe Stadium the site of two infamous meltdowns — her tirade at a lineswoman in 2009 and her continued sniping at the umpire in the 2011 final — it seems the biggest challenge to Serena is Serena.
Victoria Azarenka
Country: Belarus; Age: 24
Rank: 2/Open Seed: 2
Best U.S. Open Result: Runner-up, 2012
Azarenka won the Australian Open, lost in the semifinals at the French Open and bowed out in the second round at Wimbledon. She has beaten Serena in two of three finals this year, including both players’ last tournament in Cincinnati, as they barrel toward a potential rematch of the nail-biting 2012 Open final, which Serena won 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
Sloane Stephens
Country: United States; Age: 20
Rank: 16/Open Seed: 16
Best U.S. Open Result: Third round, 2011-12
The 20-year old is coming off a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon, and has been impressing more with her play on the court than her tense relationship with Serena off of it. She has moved up the rankings since starting the year at No. 29, aided by a semifinal run at the Australian, where she took out Serena in the quarters. As one of the new hopes in American tennis, now may be her time to put together a deep Open run. Looking at the draw, she could meet Serena in the fourth round, if both advance that far.
Venus Williams
Country: United States; Age: 33
Rank: 60/Open Seed: Unseeded
Best U.S. Open Result: Champion, 2000-01
Venus missed Wimbledon because of a bad back that has plagued her for a while. That came after she underwhelmed in the year’s first two majors, losing in the third round at the Australian and the first round at the French. Though she has not made it out of the second round the past two trips to Flushing, she has eight U.S. Open semifinal appearances on her resume.