The 27-year-old del Potro, nearly pushed into retirement by three wrist surgeries, is back at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2013, earning a wild card invitation with a stirring run to an Olympic silver medal.
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Kerber, a German compatriot of Graf, had her chance to snatch top spot last week by winning the Cincinnati title but faltered in the final, a slip-up which kept her at No. 2 heading into NY. “I don’t think Murray would go in as favourite on that surface against Nadal in a best-of-five”, the tennis legend added.
“I don’t know how he’s [Djokovic] feeling”.
Site: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in NY. But don’t award her a seventh U.S. Open crown just yet – even with Maria Sharapova away from the court due to PED suspension.
Serena Williams started strong in her latest bid to rewrite the record books, storming past Ekaterina Makarova and into the second round of the US Open.
Since the start of the year, Angelique Kerber’s been in exceptional form.
“There are a lot of good players right now”, Kerber said.
“I need to continue what I’m doing, the consistency I’ve had the last few months”.
Being viewed as a legitimate threat to Williams, Kerber said, “is really special, because Serena is one of the best players and athletes in the world”. Just getting out there and trying to play perfectly.
Murray’s consistency on the tour in recent weeks is in stark contrast to the rollercoaster fortunes of Djokovic, the defending champion in NY.
She jointly holds the record of 22 titles with Graf and will move to within the touching distance of Margaret Court’s all-time leading tally of 24.
Nadal, a year older than both Djokovic and Murray at 30, has endured a catalogue of injury woes throughout his career, mostly involving his knees and wrists.
Despite skipping a recent prep tournament, Williams, 34, admits she is not in great shape despite improvement in the joint. She thwarted Williams at the Australian Open final in January and then nearly close to doing it again at Wimbledon.
“I have not played a lot, I haven’t practised a lot, but I’m just now starting to feel a little better”, Williams said. “I just went for more placement”.
The only worry for Murray is his relatively mediocre recent record in NY – runs to the quarter-finals in 2013 and 2014 were followed by a fourth-round exit to Kevin Anderson 12 months ago.
As is always the case with Serena in NY, more history will be on the line. They also met in the semifinals of the 2014 U.S. Open.
Andy Murray has set his sights on another Grand Slam title at the US Open and we have plotted a possible route to the final at Flushing Meadows.
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The older McEnroe added: ” If things are going on in your personal life, for me it made it very hard to get that focus and intensity and will and all the other things you need to bring to the table – preparation, too – in order to play your best on the court.
