US Open: Serena Williams could make a run; Rafael Nadal gets ideal matchups
- Fans will be hoping for a run from 23-time grand slam singles champion Serena Williams in her final tournament, with the US Open seen as wide open
- Since the 40-year old Williams announced on August 9 that she was transitioning away from professional tennis, her form has not been good
The first thing most of the tennis world looked for when the US Open draws came out was where Serena Williams landed in her final tournament.
As it turns out, not in a bad spot at all. Williams, the six-time US Open champ, theoretically will have a chance to make a bit of a run facing 80th-ranked Danka Kovinic in the first round and the very vulnerable No 2 seed Anett Kontaveit after that.
The question is whether Williams’ body will hold up well enough to put consecutive matches together – something she has not had much success with since returning to tournament tennis at Wimbledon.
In reality, since the 40-year old Williams announced early this month that she was moving away from professional tennis, her form has not been good.
Though she did score one win in Canada over Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, she got handed some pretty thorough defeats by top-15 players.
Williams seemed to be struggling with knee soreness as she was swept aside by Belinda Bencic and Emma Raducanu.
It is hard to know what to expect from Williams, but the New York crowd will be a huge asset. And she ended up in a fortunate section of the draw alongside Kontaveit, No 14 seed Leylah Fernandez and No 23 seed Barbora Krejcikova who have all struggled to come back from health setbacks. On paper, one of those three should be in the quarter-finals.
