After winning Wimbledon and the gold medal in both singles and doubles at the Olympics over the past two months, Serena Williams is back at the top of her game, and that’s not good for the other 127 women in the U.S Open, which begins Monday. The draw was announced yesterday and Williams, the No. 4 seed, has a clear path to the quarterfinals and beyond.
Williams, who has a first-round match against Coco Vandeweghe, shouldn’t be tested until a potential quarterfinal showdown with No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki, against whom she owns a 5-1 lifetime record. Williams has a record of 17-3 against the three women seeded higher than her (Victoria Azarenka, Agnieszka Radwanska, Maria Sharapova), and could breeze her way to her fourth U.S. Open championship, and 15th grand slam title.
“Serena stands head and shoulders above anybody of this generation mentally,” tennis analyst Mary Carillo said on a conference call yesterday. “Serena is one of the very best. I wish that somebody could really go toe-to-toe with her on a regular basis.”
Last year, Williams was seeded 28th, losing in the final to Samantha Stosur, who is the No. 7 seed this year. The defending champion is wary of her early matches.
“It’s a great position to be in,” Stosur said after the draw was completed. “I’d rather be coming in as defending champion than not. But first rounds of grand slams, you are always a little nervous for sure.”
Venus Williams, Serena’s sister, is unseeded and faces Bethanie Mattek-Sands in the first round. She could face No. 21 Christina McHale (the second-highest ranked U.S. woman behind Serena) in the fourth round, and would play her sister in the semifinals should both get there.
Kim Clijsters, winner of the 2005, 2009 and 2010 Opens, has a 21-match winning streak in this tournament, having withdrawn from 2006-08 and last year. Seeded No. 23, and not in Serena Williams’ half of the draw, Clijsters has a favorable path to advance to the finals. The 29-year-old has announced she will retire at season’s end.
In the men’s draw, 2011 champion Novak Djokovic is seeded second and won’t have to worry about facing nemesis Rodger Federer (No. 1) or Andy Murray (No. 3) until the finals. Because Rafael Nadal withdrew, Djokovic may not even be tested until the semifinals, when he could face No. 4 David Ferrer. Djokovic went 70-6 while winning three grand slams last year in perhaps the single greatest men’s season of all time.
“In 2011, it was a remarkable seven months of my career and I crowned it with another grand slam title, my first U.S. Open,” Djokovic said. “This year I am feeling healthy and fit and I am really motivated to perform my best.”
Federer, winner of this year’s Wimbledon, and Murray, winner of Olympic gold in London, are the other favorites. America’s best chance for its first winner since Andy Roddick won in 2003 is No. 9 John Isner, who is playing the best tennis of his career.
Roddick (No. 20) plays his best here, having made the quarters last year but is a long shot to win, as is Mardy Fish (No. 23).