Djokovic begins his US Open campaign against big-serving Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, whose ranking has slipped to 228 in the world after a lengthy struggle with a knee injury.
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Will Serena have what it takes to claim the US Open victory and propel herself into the record books, or will her shoulder injury put the dream on the backburner? She was eliminated within the first three rounds of the Summer Olympics – in both singles and doubles play – and lost in the finals of both the Australian Open and French Open earlier in the year.
Last year’s surprise US Open victor Flavia Pennetta retired at the end of the 2015 season, with Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep and Venus Williams among those with realistic hopes of halting Serena. One of them is her fitness as Williams has been sidelined since the Olympics due to a right shoulder injury that led to her pulling out of the Western & Southern.
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But he’ll have to wait until Tuesday to do so, with defending champion Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in action on Monday.
“But sometimes the time is what you need as an athlete, and because the US Open is around the corner, I don’t have too much time”.
“I definitely had some sleepless nights and I’ve just felt a lot of pressure”.
“I’m actually using that as a positive, that you have to make the most of every opportunity”.
Key Statistic I: 22 – Number of Grand Slam singles titles won by Williams, sharing the professional-era record with Steffi Graf. I think having that different perspective helps a lot.
“She will feel so much less pressure than past year, also because she won Wimbledon and has at least tied Graf”, Shriver said. “But I’m doing everything in my power with the medical team to make sure that I’m as close to 100 per cent as possible”.
“I’m OK with it”, Williams told reporters Friday of the matchup.
“He’s obviously had some good wins over Juan Monaco, who he potentially plays in the second round, and Marcel Granollers is a man he knows well, who has only beaten Andy a couple of times. She never really stops”, Williams said.
At Wimbledon, he was aiming to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four singles majors in the same season. I think usually I prefer to play more coming into the final grand slam of the year, but I really don’t think there is anything we can do about it.
“I really can’t put a finger on what has changed for Murray as he always had a complete game and some wonderful strengths as far as his groundstrokes are concerned”.
Williams is the world’s No. 1 player and top seed at Flushing Meadows.
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Since losing the French Open final to Novak Djokovic in June, Murray has won Queen’s Club, a second Wimbledon title and successfully defended his Olympic crown in Rio.
