Djokovic, the world’s top-ranked player, is still battling a wrist injury just days out from his first-round clash with Jerzy Janowicz.
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Serena, the top seed and world No. 1, is set to take the Ashe Stadium court under the lights on Tuesday night against Russian Ekaterina Makarova, against whom Williams is 4-1, including a victory in the 2014 semifinals.
“I would imagine if I’m lucky I’d be playing at this level for three, four more years, max, I would think”, said 2012 champion Murray.
I hope I’m still playing like this when I’m 38 years old. but it’s pretty unlikely. “I am starting to feel better so that’s a positive”.
Kerber missed out on the chance of replacing Williams as the world number one earlier this month, but she will still expect to provide a strong challenge to the home favourite, with the second seed leading the bottom half of the draw.
The Serbian, who will arrive in NY bidding for a 13th Grand Slam title, has been out of sorts recently following shock defeats at Wimbledon and the Olympic tournament at Rio 2016 earlier this month.
“But I thought she’d win Wimbledon and she did. It’s not ideal, but it was all I could do”. “And it’s those moments that I have to just, like, come off and be like, ‘Serena, do you know what you’ve done?”
The US Open gets under way tonight.
There is no Grand Slam to tantalize her, but if she wins the Open, she will pass Steffi Graf with her 23rd major tournament victory, an Open-era record.
Key Statistic II: 186 – Number of consecutive weeks Williams will have spent at No. 1 by the end of the U.S. Open, equaling Graf’s all-time WTA record.
“I was pleased with my serve, because I haven’t been hitting a lot of serves at all”, the 34-year-old Williams said.
“The shoulder is still not 100 per cent but it’s very close and she will find a way”.
Bouchard is suing the grand slam and the United States Tennis Association after slipping on a wet changing room floor previous year and having to withdraw from the competition. In Federer’s absence, Stan Wawrinka, beaten Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic, as well as 2014 US Open finalist Kei Nishikori and victor Cilic, loom as the other likely challengers.
Makarova and her partner Elena Vesnina are only the third team to win a womens doubles Olympic Gold since 2000, which is when Serena and her sister Venus Williams began dominating, winning the event three times. If Kerber makes the final, then Williams has to beat her there.
Victory in NY would see British No.1 Murray move closer to the top of the world rankings – a place he has never occupied in his career.
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‘I will not put too much pressure on it, if the day will come when I will reach No 1, it would be unbelievable, ‘ Kerber said. Australian Open champ Angelique Kerber and French Open victor Garbine Muguruza are on the other side of the draw.
