Friday was the first time either discussed the health problems that stymied them in Rio de Janeiro and forced them to withdraw from the hard-court warmup at Cincinnati.
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The American tennis star, who is also chasing a record seventh crown in NY, has been struggling with a right shoulder injury which contributed to an early loss at the Olympics and sparked her withdrawal from last week’s Cincinnati tournament. “Your brain goes from one ball at a time to, ‘Oh crap, I’m up playing for 3-0 and I’m up a set already”.
“She has been pain-free for a few days now”, coach Patrick Mouratoglou said.
U.S. CONTINGENT: The Harrisons are two of the half-dozen players from the United States who qualified, helping raise the country’s total representation to 39 players (22 women, 17 men), the most in the U.S. Open since there were 40 in 2005. Should she slip up, 2016 Australian Open champion and Wimbledon runner-up Angelique Kerber could move past Williams to become the new world No. 1. She joked after Monday’s victory that she had earned 60 ranking points by virtue of that result – but says she’s trying not to harp on that part of the equation.
Djokovic said the injury occurred while he was practicing in Rio, stressing that it was not the reason for his earlier loss to Sam Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon.
But although she is tipped for the title she knows that Williams, despite a shoulder concern, is still the one to beat.
This time last year, Williams was competing for the chance to hold all four grand slams in a calendar year, therefore this time around it does not feel like such a pressurised situation for her.
“He’s gotten me to use my forehand more”, McHale said of the Argentine.
OH, BROTHER: American siblings Ryan and Christian Harrison are the first brothers to get into the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament by both qualifying since at least 1982. If the 28-year-old Kerber and Williams meet in the final, the U.S. Open title and the No. 1 ranking will be up for grabs.
She’s now ranked 55th with a 31-20 record this year.
Williams comes into the Open bothered by a shoulder ailment and having not played much tennis this summer.
Seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe has claimed that Andy Murray is still some way short of achieving the level of dominance the likes of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer have enjoyed in recent years.
Djokovic has admitted he is still suffering from the wrist injury that hampered him at the Olympics and there will be great interest in the top seed’s early-round performances. Then she went to the Olympics and suffered an uncharacteristic third-round loss to No. 20 Elina Svitolina, 6-4, 6-3. They also met in the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Open.
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Vinci is seeded No. 7 at this U.S. Open, a big step up from 2015, and a status which brings with it the realization that if she can’t duplicate last year’s run, her ranking will fall. But the 19th-seeded Johnson could face the Olympic silver medalist in the second round.
