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Breaking down the US Open women's draw

The big question on everyone's mind for the US Open women's draw was which of the top players would draw the Williams sisters in the early rounds. With Serena down at no. 28 and Venus being unseeded, there was a real possibility of some blockbuster clashes in the first week itself. The speculation can stop as we break down the draw quarter-by-quarter.

TOP QUARTER -
World no. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, badly in need of a good showing in New York to justify her top ranking, opens up against an easy opponent – Nuria Llagostra Vives – but will then find the going tough against some big hitters. The Dane would be severely tested in the second round against Russian Elena Vesnina and in the last 32 by 29th seed Jarmila Ggajdosova – both big hitters capable of outhitting the Dane.

Wozniacki's round of 16 opponent could be the the unpredictable Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova, a former champion and seeded 15 here, or the 21st seed Daniela Hantuchova – both with the ability to match the best on their day.

French Open champion Li Na, seeded sixth, is the Dane's projected quarter-final opponent. But Li has been struggling since her win in Paris and will need to be careful in her early matches in New York. The Chinese player opens against a talented teenager – Simona Halep – in round one. German Andrea Petkovic, coming off some big wins on the summer hardcourt series, will also be a handful in the last 16. The other seeds in this section are the struggling Estonian Kaia Kanepi, seeded 31, and Italy's Roberta Vinci, a winner of three titles this year but not known to be a big match player.

Upset Watch – Tamarine Tanasugarn to beat (31) Kaia Kanepi

Unseeded players to keep an eye on – Tamira Paszek, Kimiko-Date Krumm

Predicted Quarter-final – Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Andrea Petkovic
Winner – Andrea Petkovic

SECOND QUARTER -
Victoria Azarenka, at no. 4, is the top seed in this section. The Belarusian, whose grunts have been known to rival the planes flying overhead the US Open grounds, is the unfortunate top seed to have Serena Williams in her section.



Seeded 28, Williams opens up against a 19 year old Serb Bojanna Jovanavski, who should give her a good match and could meet Azarenka in round three. Serena has won her last 12 matches and is the consensus favourite in the women's draw this year. Ana Ivanovic is the scheduled fourth round opponent for the winner of the Azarenka-Williams clash. But the Serb will need to beat her own nerves and the in-form Petra Cetkovska, New Haven finalist this week, in the second round to reach the second week. 23rd seed Shahar Peer is also in Ivanovic's section.

Former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone is the other top 8 seed in this section. The Italian, a firm favourite with the New York crowd, reached the quarters last here and could repeat her 2010 performance – one obstacle getting there will be the winner of the third round clash between 11th seed Jelena Jankovic and 17th seed Anastasia Pavyulenchkova, slated to be a future Slam winner by some. Spanish volleyer (no, that's not an oxymoron) Maria Jose Sanchez Martinez, seeded 32nd, is Schivone's projected third round opponent in what could be a fun match to watch.

First round matches to watch out for - (23) Shahar Peer vs. Sania Mirza

Potential matches to look out for -
(4) Victoria Azarenka vs. Rebecca Marino
(7) Francesca Schiavone vs. Mirjana Lucic
(11) Jelena Jankovic vs. Jelena Dokic

Upset Watch – Ksenia Pervak to beat (16) Ana Ivanovic

Unseeded players to keep an eye out on – Sloane Stephens

Predicted Quarter-Final – Serena Williams vs. Jelena Jankovic
Winners – Serena Williams

THIRD QUARTER -


3rd seed Maria Sharapova and 5th seed Petra Kvitova could replay their Wimbledon final as early as the quarter-finals here in New York. Sharapova, winner in Cincinnati, plays the talented Brit teenager Heather Watson in the first round in what could be a dangerous match if the Russian's serve fails her. 13th seed Shuai Peng, coming off an injury, slumping German Julia Georges, seeded 19th, and pretty Italian Flavia Pennetta, seeded 26th, are also in Sharapova's section.

Kvitova, capable of playing Wimbledon-winning-tennis one day and first-round-losing tennis the next, will need to be wary of Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in the fourth round. Radwanska, who won the Carlsbad title last month, will open against her younger sister Urszula who qualified for the event. 20th seed Yanina Wickmayer, a ball-striker as good fine as Belgian chocolate, and 27th seed Lucie Safarova, now the ex-girlfriend of ATP player Thomas Berdych, are also in this section.

First round matches to watch out for - Jill Craybass (oldest player in the draw at 360 vs. Madison Keys (at 16, the youngest)

Upset Watch – Aravane Rezai to beat (26) Flavia Pennetta

Unseeded players to keep an eye on – Melanie Oudin, Sorana Cirstea

Predicted Quarter-final – Maria Sharapova vs. Agiezska Radwanska
Winner – Sharapova

FOURTH QUARTER -
2010 finalist Vera Zvonerava, seeded 2nd, is the highest ranked player in this section. The Russian is not playing as well as last year and will be under pressure to defend those runner-up points. Still she should easily beat 30th seed Anabel Medina Garrigues to make the last 16.

The Russian's scheduled fourth round opponent is the 14th seed Dominika Cibulkova – but many people, me included, will pick Sabine Lisicki to get through this section. The German is seeded 22nd and coming off a title win on Saturday in Dallas.



She could play an unseeded Venus Williams in the second round in what could be a big-serving blockbuster. But Williams who has played only 3 events all year due to various injuries, comes into the Open with no hardcourt match practice and it might be too much to expect her to beat an in-form Lisicki.

France's Marion Bartoli, seeded 8th, and Australian Sam Stosur, seeded 9th, will likely fight for the last quarter-final spot. Bartoli will have to first deal with an in-form American teen in Christina McHale in the second round while Stosur, who rebounded well on the hardcourt stretch after a forgetful first half of 2011, will find the going tough against 24th seed Nadia Petrova in round three. Another Russian – the 24th seed Maria Kirilenko – is also in this section.

First round matches to watch out for - (25) Maria Kirilenko vs. Ekaterina Makarova

Potential matches to look out for - (24) Nadia Petrova vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands

Unseeded players to keep an eye on – Coco Vandeweghe, Irina Falconi, Laura Robson

Predicted Quarter-final – Sabine Liscki vs. Marion Bartoli
Winner – Lisciki

SEMI-FINALS
Serena Williams beats Petkovic
Sharapova beats Lisicki

FINALS
Serena Williams beats Maria Sharapova

After Team Anna, can Team India make us proud in New York??

India's top singles players, Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza, have had a reasonably successful 2011 season - both currently ranked inside the world's top 65 after beginning the year at no. 110 and no. 166 respectively.

But concerns over fitness and form, combined with a tough draw, means that they are unlikely to cause much damage in the singles draw of the US Open.

Devvarman, currently in the best shape of his life, has won only 3 matches in 4 hardcourt events leading into the year's final Grand Slam and has drawn world no. 4 Andy Murray in the first round. Murray, winner of the Cincinnati Masters last week, is seen by many as a potential winner in New York; and has too many weapons and too much court savvy for the Indian to have realistic chances for an upset.

On the other hand, Mirza is still battling the knee injury she suffered a few months back. The Indian has won only 2 matches in her 4 hardcourt warm-up events and meets world no. 24 Shahar Peer, of Israel, in round one.

If Sania is physically fine, she should have a good shot at upsetting Peer, who she has beaten in 4 of their 5 career meetings, including the last four in a row. Peer is in a slump of her own, having dropped from her peak ranking of no. 11 earlier this year, and if Sania can keep her unforced errors in check, she could easily win this one and go further with potential clashes against American teenager Sloane Stephens in round two and the struggling Ana Ivanovic in round three.



As usual, Indian fans will have to look towards the doubles if they hope to get some silverware. After a scintillating start to the year, the Indian Express - Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi - have had some medicore results (second round of French and Wimbledon) before winning the Cincinnati Masters title last week. The duo also scored a first win over the top-ranked Bryan brothers in 3 meetings this year in the semis there and followed it with a win over the second seeds Llodra/ Zimonjic in the final - nicely setting themselves up for a good run in the Big Apple.

The Indo-Pak Express, Rohan Bopanna and Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi , have failed to breakthrough to the winners circle after making the finals here in 2010. The duo are also struggling to win matches - 2 wins in 4 events post Wimbledon - which means they will be running short on confidence.



Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina have played only 2 events post Wimbledon, due to Mirza's knee problems and Vesnina's own fitness concerns (the duo had to reitre in one of those events due to the Russians hand injury). But look for them to reach the second week in New York atleast as they hope to make a push to qualify for the year-ending WTA Tour Championships (only the top 4 teams qualify, Mirza-Vesnina care currently third in the race).

Paes, Bhupathi, Bopanna and Mirza will also be competing in the mixed doubles draw though at the time of writing, it is still not certain who their partners will be. Given Paes and Bhupathi's excellent track record in this version of the game, there is a good chance for them to go deep in this draw.

Team Anna scored a historic win on Saturday. Lets hope Team India can score a big one in two weeks time.

Breaking down the men's U.S. Open Draw

One of the most anticipated events around any Grand Slam is the unveiling of the draw - picking out exiciting first round matches and looking ahead to potential blockbuster encounters. Will Federer draw Djokovic or Nadal as his projected semi-final opponent? Will any of the top 4 players get the dangerous Juan Martin Del Potro in the third or fourth round?

The draw for the 2011 US Open is out and here is a breakdown quarter-by-quarter.

TOP QUARTER -
Two words are suffice to analyse this section of the draw. Novak Djokovic.

But for the other 31 players who had the misfortune of being drawn in his quarter, let's go through the motions anyways. Djokovic, 60-2 for the year, opens up against qualifier Conor Niland, a 29 year old Irish qualifer ranked no. 199 who is making history by ensuring that Ireland has two players in the main draw of a Grand Slam event for the first time – that's one more than their illustrous British counterparts.

Djokovic is not likely to have many problems until the quarter-finals. His projected third round opponent could be the 32nd seed Ivan Dodig, winner over Nadal in Montreal, who will first need to get past the slumping Russian Nikolay Davydenko, a former world no. 3 now ranked no. 39 in the world.

The Serb's projected fourth round opponent is the no. 13 seed Richard Gasquet, him of the single-handed backhand and half-mental resolve fame, or the 22nd seed Alexandr Dolgopolov, him of the free-swinging, weilding-racket-like-a-paint-brush fame.

Djokovic's first real test is likely to come in the last eight where he could run into the 7th seed Gael Monfils or the 9th seed Thomas Berdych. Monfils, who at times plays to thrill the crowds rather than to win matches, opens up against the talented Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, a 20 year old ranked 52 in the world, whose Federeresque game has earned him the nickname 'Baby Fed' and a heap of early attention. Dimitrov will be playing in the main draw in New York for the first time and has won only 2 matches in four other Grand Slam appearances.

Spain's Marcel Granollers, seeded 31st, is in Monfils section but the hard-hitting but harder-thinking Serb Janko Tipsarevic, seeded 20th, is likely to play Berdych in the third round.

Potential mouth-watering clashes
2nd round (7) Gael Monfils vs. Juan Carlos Ferrero
2nd round – (13) Richard Gasquet vs. Fernando Gonzalez
2nd round – (22) Alexandr Dolgopolov vs. Kei Nishikori

Upset Watch - Sergiy Stakhovsky to beat (13) Richard Gasquet in first round

Other unseeded player to keep an eye on - Xavier Malisse

Projected Quarter-final - Novak Djokovic vs. Thomas Berdych
Winner – Novak Djokovic

SECOND QUARTER -
Roger Federer, at no. 3, is the highest seed in this section which means he is drawn to play Djokovic in the semi-finals, should they both get there. Federer is one of only two players (the other one being Andy Murray) to beat the Serb this year but might face a few difficulties in keeping his appointment with the Serb.

After a relatively straight-forward first round against Colombia's Santiago Giraldo, the 16-time Grand Slam champion could meet a tricky foe in Brazil's Thomas Bellucci in the second. The Brazlian has a wicked forehand which could trouble Fed if the Swiss is off his game.

Federer's scheduled third round opponent is the 27th seed Marin Cilic but the Croatian will first have to negotiate a tough first rounder against 19 year old Ryan Harrison. The American has had some good wins over the summer and is touted to be the future of American tennis. Last year, Harrison beat the seeded Ivan Ljubicic in the first round before losing in a fifth set tie-breaker in the second to Stakhovsky. Should Cilic manage to defeat the young American, he could face the young Australian Bernard Tomic next. Tomic was the youngest player in over two decades to reach the quarter-finals of Wimbledon in June and another high-rated prospect in the men's game.

The seeds in Federer's sixteen are Serbia's Victor Troicki, seeded 15th, and the 31 year old Radek Stepanek, seeded 23rd – both of whom Federer should have few problems with. But Federer will have to battle hard in the quarter-finals where he is drawn to meet 8th seed Mardy Fish or the mercurial Frenchman Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, seeded 11th.



Fish, having the summer of his life, will be the top American hope in the men's draw and should easily get past his scheduled third round opponent - 29th seed Michael Llodra while Tsonga, winner over Federer twice in the last three months, should also be able to defeat the struggling Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, now down to no. 19 in the seedings.

Other first round matches to watch out for -
(11) Jo-Wilfred Tsonga vs. Yen Hsun-Lu
(23) Radek Stepanek vs. Philip Kohlschreiber

Upset Watch – Ryan Harrison to beat (27) Marin Cilic

Other unseeded players to keep an eye on - Tommy Haas, Kevin Anderson and Jarko Niemenin

Projected Quarter-final - Roger Federer vs. Mardy Fish
Winner – Mardy Fish



THIRD QUARTER -
Andy Murray, riding high after winning the Cincinnati Masters, is the top dog in this section. After opening against India's Somdev Devvarman, who Murray should beat easily, the Brit could run into Dutchman Robin Hasse, capable of playing breathtaking power tennis when his game is on, in the second round and then meet Feliciano Lopez, seeded 25th in a third round match that could test the loyalities of mother, Judy Murray, once again. (For the uninformed, Judy drooled over the Spainiard during Wimbledon calling him 'Deliciano' and then had to watch Andy beat Deliciano in the quarters there).

Murray's scheduled fourth-round opponent is the 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, if the Swiss reaches there. Wawrinka's seciton also includes the 24th seed Jaun Ignacio Chela, Russian Dimitry Tursunov and 22 year old Donald Young, looking for redemption from home fans.

Murray's drawn quarter-final opponent is the 6th seed Robin Soderling. The Swede has missed the entire summer hardcourt stretch due to injury and could be marked out for an early upset. American John Isner, seeded 28th, would love to take advantage of Soderling's lack of preparedness and reach the second week. But Isner will have a tough opponent straight off the blocks in Marcos Baghdatis, who the American has beaten in all three of their previous encounters.

If Isner hopes to reach his first Slam quarter-final, his most dangerous opponent will be the 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro. The 18th seeded Argentine was unable to defend his title last year and has returned to the top 20 following months away due to wrist surgery. Also in this section is the 12th seed Giles Simon, of France.

Potential mouth-watering clashes
2nd round – (28) John Isner vs. Robby Ginepri

Upset Watch - None

Other unseeded players to keep an eye on - Alex Bogomolov Jr.,

Projected Quarter-final - Andy Murray vs. Juan Martin Del Potro
Winner – Andy Murray

FOURTH QUARTER -
Defending champion Rafael Nadal heads this section where he opens up against Kazakh Andrey Golubev, who only recently ended an 18 match losing streak on the ATP tour. Nadal's scheduled third round opponent is the veteran Ivan Ljubicic, seeded 30th or the unseeded David Nalbandain, capable of alternating brilliant with forgetful tennis.

The seeds in Nadal's sixteen include No. 16 Mikhail Youzhny and No. 17 Jurgen Melzer – both of whom the Spaniard should be able to beat even with a half-burnt right hand.

Nadal's projected quarter-final opponent is compatriot David Ferrer, who knocked off an injured Nadal out of Melbourne. 5th seeded Ferrer's potential second round against popular American James Blake, possibly playing his last US Open, could be a thriller – the winner of that match should be the favourite against 26th seed Florian Mayer.




Nicholas Almagro is the 10th seed in this section and could face former champion Andy Roddick in the third round. The American. down to no. 21 in the seedings after an injury plagued couple of years, will be hoping for a good run in his home Slam to redeem his season but will need to be wary of a second round clash against Jack Sock – an 18 year old American who is considered by many to be a potential future star of the game.

Other first round matches to watch out for -
(5) David Ferrer vs. Igor Andreev

Upset Watch – Julien Benneteau to beat (10) Nicholas Almagro
Ernests Gulbis to beat (16) Mikhail Youzhny

Other unseeded players to keep an eye on - Nicholas Mahut

Projected Quarter-final - Rafael Nadal vs. Andy Roddick
Winner – Rafael Nadal

SEMI-FINALS
Djokovic beats Fish
Murray beats Nadal

FINAL
Murray beat Djokovic

U.S. OPEN MEN’s PREVIEW

There was one thing certain going into Cincinnati – the final major tune-up event before the US Open – that Novak Djokovic was the overwhelming favourite for the men’s singles title. Only a brave or foolish man would think otherwise – such has been the Serb’s dominance in 2011. But by the end of the week in Cincinnati, there was a glimmer of hope for the other 127 men who will be vying for the year’s final Grand Slam title in New York.

Djokovic marched into yet another final in Cincinnati where the physical and mental exhaustion of his success finally caught up with him and the Serb was visibly slowed down by a shoulder injury and fatigue. Down 4-6, 0-3 to Andy Murray, Djokovic decided to retire from the final – only his second loss in 62 matches this year in what is currently the best season in men’s tennis since 1984.

Djokovic’s camp insists he will be fit and ready in time for the Open which kicks off on August 29, but the early rounds in New York will be a crucial test for him. The Grand Slams are best-of-five set battles and if Djokovic is pushed to the wire in the early rounds, it might leave him vulnerable when he comes up against some of the bigger names in the second week. Still, Djokovic has to be the odds-on favourite to win his third Slam title of the year at Flushing Meadows.

The two players vying for the crown of Greatest Player of All Time (but ironically, both are currently playing second fiddle to another player in 2011) – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are having problems of their own; which means they not be in the best position to capitalize when the Serb lets up.



Nadal, who has taken up a somewhat permanent residence in Federer’s psyche, now finds his own psyche habitated by Djokovic. After losing to the Serb in five finals this year, Nadal has admitted that he will need to work hard during the off-season and change things if he has to catch up with the Serb in 2012.

The Spaniard, who is the defending champion, is not playing with the same mental toughness he is famous for – letting go off a winning position to little known Croatian Ivan Dodig in the second round in Montreal and then compounded his difficulties by burning two fingers on his right hand in a restaurant.

Playing with heavy taping in Cincinnati, the injury left the Spaniard in pain when he tossed the ball to serve or hit his two-handed backhand. The result was a first loss to American Mardy Fish in the quarter-finals, leaving the Spaniard’s preparations woefully short of match fitness on hardcourts.



On the other hand, Federer is fit, even if he is a step slower having crossed the age of 30 in early August, but is unable to find a way to take down younger bigger hitters. The Swiss suffered early losses to Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and Thomas Berdych in Montreal and Cincinnati respectively, and at present there seem to be one too many players who seem capable of blasting the ball past Federer. Still, with 16 Slams in his bag, Federer remains as Jon Wertheim rightly put it, a contender at each Slam, a favourite at none.



All this suddenly brings Andy Murray back into the conversation of US Open contenders. The Brit suffered an early loss in Montreal but rebounded nicely to win the Cincinnati Masters, taking down an in-form Mardy Fish in the semis before triumphing over Djokovic in the final. Murray seems to be in good physical form and has not played much since Wimbledon which should make him battle-ready in New York. Murray loves playing on the hardcourts and has been to the finals here once before. And with the spotlight likely to be hogged by the triumvirate of Novak-Rafa-Roger, this might be the best chance for Murray to get the Grand Slam monkey off his back – which is why I am picking him to be the 2011 US Open champion.

It’s hard to see anyone outside the top 4 with a realistic chance of winning the year’s final Grand Slam but stranger things have happened. The home fans will have a new favourite to cheer for in 29 year old Mardy Fish.



Fish has broken out of the shadow of buddy Andy Roddick this year and established himself as the top American men’s player by a wide margin. On the back of his most successful summer hardcourt campaign (winner in Atlanta, finalist in LA to Ernests Gulbis, finalist in Montreal to Djokovic and semi-finalist to Murray in Cincinnati), Fish has risen to 7th in the world rankings while an injury-plagued Roddick is currently at no. 21.

Fish and Roddick have both re-invented their playing styles in recent years. But while Roddick’s game seems restricted by his desire to patiently wait for his opponent to make an error, Fish has enhanced his attacking game with the ability to engage in long baseline rallies and pull the trigger at the right time – something that Roddick has been unable to successfully do.

It would also be interesting to see just how Fish soaks in his new status as top dog in American tennis. Will it push him to make his first career Grand Slam semi-final or pull him down to another disappointing early loss in a major?

Robin Soderling has been injured and has hardly played on the summer hardcourt season which makes him a target for an early upset. David Ferrer, Tsonga, Berdych, Gael Monfils and Juan Martin Del Potro will likely be around in the second week but they will need for the draw to open up if they hope to be playing on the final Sunday.




Some of the young guns to keep an eye out for include two American teenagers, 19 year old Ryan Harrison and 18 year old Jack Sock, Bulgarian talent Grigor Dimitrov, temperamental Latvian Ernests Gulbis (winner in LA over Fish), quirky Ukranian Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic.

Some veterans hoping to make a final deep run at a major include popular American James Blake, Czech serve-n-volleyer Radek Stepanek, and former top 3 players Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian.

The US Open is often considered by fans and the players as the most exciting Grand Slam event and 2011 looks to be no different. Will Novak extend his domination over the field? Will Rafa rebound and inch closer to Federer’s Slam tally? Will Roger break the longest dry spell since his first Slam win? Or will Murray breakthrough for his maiden Slam title?

The answers will be served up on the Arthur Ashe Stadium starting Monday August 29th.

U.S. OPEN WOMEN’s PREVIEW

The women’s game has been suffering from a credibility and identity crisis for some time now, with most of the top stars being injured or running through a confidence crisis and the rankings being dominated by players playing week-in and week-out without having major titles on their resumes.

But Serena Williams’ return has brought back the buzz around the women in time for the US Open, which begins in New York on August 29. After falling to Marion Bartoli in the fourth round of Wimbledon (which was just her second event after a 11-month lay-off due to injuries and health issues), Williams rebounded with back-to-back titles in Stanford and Toronto.

After winning her 12th consecutive match in Cincinnati (tying the longest winning streak on tour this year), Williams withdrew from the event with a right toe injury. This seems to be a minor setback and perhaps a way to keep herself fresh for the Open where Serena will be the overwhelming favourite. Seeded 28th, Serena might encounter one of the top seeds as early as the third round but that should not be much of a concern for the American, who has made a habit of beating higher-ranked players when returns from long lay-offs.

Serena’s sister Venus Williams is still entered as the time of writing this article but even if she were to play in New York, Venus is unlikely to have a legitimate shot at another title in New York. Venus has played only 5 events in the last 14 months and has not played since Wimbledon – a viral illness forcing her to withdraw from her scheduled US Open warm-up events.

One player who is already out is the two-time defending champion Kim Clijsters. The Belgian has been plagued by injuries for the last 6 months – the latest, a stomach muscle injury, forcing her to miss her second consecutive Slam and ending her hopes of a three-peat in New York.



Another superstar trying to get back to the status of Grand Slam champion is Maria Sharapova. The former world no. 1 reached the semis at Roland Garros and the finals at Wimbledon - both times beaten by opponents who had too much game for the Russian handicapped by an unreliable serve. Sharapova will be hoping to one better in New York and after some early losses on the summer hardcourt stretch (including one to Serena in Stanford), Sharapova won the Cincinnati event, beating Vera Zvonareva and Jelena Jankovic en route to that title.

Now up to no. 4 in the world and with #3 Clijsters out and #2 Zvonareva defending runners-up points, Sharapova, who only reached the fourth round last year, could likely end the tournament as world no. 2. But if she wants to win her second US Open title, the Russian will need to rely once again on her serve; for there are far too many women with a good return game who will break her unreliable serve and wavering confidence.




Caroline Wozniacki is the first player since Martina Hingis (1997-2001) to be named top seed at back-to-back Opens on the basis of her world no. 1 ranking. But the Dane comes into Flushing Meadows with a new yet-to-be-revealed coach, waning confidence and increasing media scrutiny. After suffering early losses at the French and Wimbledon, Wozniacki fell early in her hardcourt events in the US losing to Roberta Vinci and Christina McHale, ranked no. 21 and 66 respectively. Wozniacki's new coach is unlikely to have a magic potion to work on the parts of her game she needs to beef up to compete against the bigger babes on tour and it might be 2012 before the Dane is back in a Slam final.

The two women in the New York draw who have won Slams this year - Li Na and Petra Kvitova - have failed to gain momentum on the summer hardcourt stretch but their experience of winning a Slam will hold them in good stead.

Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Francesca Schiavone are former Slam champions in the draw. Kuznetsova is a perplexing player prone to losing to players not half as talented or athletcially gifted as her; Ivanovic comes to New York with a new coach in Nigel Sears but also with her old nerves in tow; and Schiavone returns to delight a New York crowd where she has a loyal fan following - the Italian is the only one of the trio likely to be around in the second week.

The tennis world has been waiting for Victoria Azarenka to breakthrough for a couple of years now. But the Belarusian, who has withdrawn from matches more than a dozen times since 2010 due to an assortment of injuries, is unlikely to turn Grand Slam champion in New York. And world no. 2 Vera Zvonareva may have missed her best chance, going back to her mediocre form after reaching back-to-back Slam finals in 2010.



Other seeded women likely to make the second week include Sam Stosur, on the back of a good summer after a disastrous first half of 2011, Poland's Agniezska Radwanska, who won the Carlsbad title, quirky Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli, Cincinnati finalist Jelena Jakovic and Germans Andrea Petkovic and Sabine Lisicki - with the big-serving Lisicki earning my vote for the dark horse in the women's draw.

Unseeded women who will be hoping to make a splash in New York include 19 year old American Christina McHale, 18 year old American Sloane Stephens, Canadian Rebecca Marino and 40 year old Kimkio Date-Krumm.

I'm going with Serena for the women's title. Time to pick yours.

Week Gone By - 22nd August

The last major tune-up event ahead of the US Open is complete with the men and women playing the first combined Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Andy Murray won the men's title taking down an injured and exhausted Novak Djokovic in the final. The Serb hurt his shoulder and looked physically spent, pulling out of the final when he was down 4-6, 0-3 - marking only his second defeat in 59 matches in 2011.

The morale boosting win for Murray puts him back into the conversation for the US Open title, especially if Djokovic fails to recover sufficiently from his injury. The Serb seems on his way to building the best tennis season since Johnny Mac's 1984 run where the American went 82-3 but will need to be in top physical shape if he wants to win his third Grand Slam title of the year.

The two other US Open contenders, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both lost in the quarter-finals. Federer suffered another loss to another big-hitter - this time to Thomas Berdych while Nadal burnt his fingers on his right hand in a restaurant which troubled him on his serve and backhand as he went down to American Mardy Fish, also in the quarters.

Fish, who lost a tense straight setter to Murray in the semis, will be hoping his good form extends into New York where he will be the leading American by a mile. Torch-bearer of American men's tennis for over a decade, Andy Roddick dropped out of the top 20 this week after losing his temper and his first round match in Cincinnati.



Maria Sharapova won the women's title, coming from a set and a break down to defeat another former world no. 1 Jelena Jankovic in a marathon final. The win moves Sharapova up to no. 4 in the world rankings and also to the top of the WTA Championships Race.

Sharapova scored her first win over a top 5 player since January 2008 when she took down world no. 2 Vera Zvonareva in the semis and will now be hoping to go one step better than her Wimbledon runners-up position in New York. The Russian's game and confidence hinges on her serve, which will need to be working in order to add to her Grand Slam tally.

Jankovic, also in a prolonged slump of her own due to fitness, injury and poor form, will be disappointed with letting a winning position vanish in Cincinnati but happy with her performance this week - her best result this year.

The big news early on was Serena Williams' withdrawal in the second round, due to an aggravated right toe - the same toe that she injured last year. Serena had won her last two events and is expected to be fit and the favourite in New York.

Other Slam champions in the draw - Petra Kvitova, Li Na, Francesca Schiavone, Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kuznetsova - all lost early while world no.1 Caroline Wozniacki suffered another early loss - this time to the American teen Christina McHale. Wozniacki also announced that she will no longer be coached by her father and will be joined by a new coach in New York - an interesting turn of events for the Dane who seemed to be on top of the world earlier this year.



For Indian tennis fans, the good news was the Indian Express' triumph in Cincinnati for their third title of the year - beating the top ranked Bryan brothers and Llodra/ Zimonjic on the way. The duo will be hoping they can re-create the magic in New York as will the rest of their fans. The US Open gets underway on August 29.