After Wimbledon, Williams was stunned in the Round of 16 at the Olympics by Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, and then skipped the event in Cincinnati because of her shoulder.
Advertisement
Doubts remain over Serena’s fitness coming into the final Grand Slam of the year, but the American will hope to get her best tennis going in NY against an opponent who is quite capable of beating the top seeds.
Graf, who shares the Open-era grand-slam record of 22 wins with Williams, told Kerber she was on the right track and to go easier on herself.
Doesn’t always seem to matter that she owns a record-tying 22 major singles titles heading into the U.S. Open, which begins Monday with a retractable roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first time.
Despite everything that Serena Williams has won and done, her sense of self can still fluctuate based on the outcome of a particular match.
“I’ve had a phenomenal season – definitely rank this season one of the best that I’ve had in [my] career”, he said.
“I think that gave him a lot more confidence”. Murray has won 33 of his last 35 matches, picking up a second Wimbledon title and second Olympic gold medal along the way.
Serena Williams hadn’t played much coming into the Grand Slam tournament.
Since then she has withdrawn from her WTA title defence in Cincinnati, saying the inflammation in her shoulder “continues to be a challenge”. But even she had been in the draw, no one, not even her new husband, tennis player Fabio Fognini, would have put their money on a repeat performance.
Former world number three Shriver, runner-up in the 1978 US Open, thinks normal service will be resumed for Williams in NY and is also backing the 34-year-old to triumph in Melbourne next year.
“Rafa has been struggling with injury, Roger struggling with injury, Stan Wawrinka hasn’t got back to the levels he was at when he won the French and the Australian, so they’ve pulled ahead of those guys now”.
For Djokovic, it’s a sore left wrist he said he hurt in Rio a few days before his first-round Olympic loss to Juan Martin del Potro, a player who knows plenty about how that injury hinders a righty’s two-handed backhand. The match will start at 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN, so make sure you finish all your work before that so that you can watch her match uninterrupted, from your television or laptop.
“He says it just happened training before the Olympics and I’d heard nothing about a wrist problem before that”. I’m honored to actually play in active tennis against with two of them.
Madison Keys will start her bid to win the U.S. Open against Alison Riske, while Garbine Muguruza will face Elise Mertens.
Murray, in the opposite half of the draw to the 12-time grand slam victor, does not face Lukas Rosol until Tuesday and the Scot has downplayed the effect his rival’s injury could have on his own chances.
No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany topped Williams Down Under in January, and No. 3 Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain stunned Serena in the French final.
Federer, who won five of his men’s record 17 Grand Slam titles in NY, will be sitting out the U.S. Open for the first time since 1999 as he takes the rest of the season off to let his left knee heal. Of course having that chance means a lot to me, but you have to play a whole year to get that chance. The backhand is very good; that’s her weapon. “I feel so many wonderful memories and moments”. And for Snapchat, this is a chance not only to further engage their users, but also to open up new opportunities for advertisers.
Advertisement
“At this point, I’m taking it a day at a time”, said Williams.
