By John Huston
WILL SERENA BREAK THE 2014 SLAM CURSE? World No. 1 Serena Williams arrives in New York with a lot more than her ranking on the line. This has been a topsy-turvy year for Serena—while she’s won titles in Rome, Miami, and more recently Cincinnatl, she has yet to reach even a quarterfinal at a Slam in 2014. A magic number 18 Slam title—tying her with Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova—still dangles before her. It’s almost as if the day when Serena chastised then-No. 1 Dinara Safina for only winning “Rome and Madrid” has come back to haunt her. Serena is looking to defend here at the US Open, and anyone who has followed her hard court progress this summer will experience deja vu looking at some of her potential opponents: Sam Stosur (fourth round), Ana Ivanovic (quarterfinal).
PRESENT, MEET FUTURE: Without a doubt, the first-round marquee match is Serena vs. Taylor Townsend. Dynamic and charismatic lefty Townsend truly made the leap from juniors at the French Open, defeating Serena’s 2014 nemesis Alize Cornet (who, weirdly, has beaten Serena twice while losing to almost every other American she’s played this year). Will young Taylor get a schooling, or will she give Serena a scare (or more)? This big-hitting matchup has potential.
DEJA VU, PART TWO (OR THREE): Serena isn’t the only one having flashbacks when she looks at the draw—if Sloane Stephens makes it past her first two opponents, she’ll likely face Jelena Jankovic for the third time on a hard court this summer. Though their matches have been hard-fought and entertaining, Jankovic—even when faced with wardrobe malfunctions—always finds a way to come out on top. Now working with Thomas Hogstedt, Sloane is going to have to find a way to solve the challenges put forth by consistent vets such as JJ and Caroline Wozniacki to establish herself as a top player. It’s grow up and show up time for Sloane.
MARIA’S MARATHON MARCH BACK TO THE TOP: Rising up the rankings once again, reigning French champ Maria Sharapova has everything to gain in New York—she didn’t play the US Open last year. She’s in Simona Halep‘s quarter, having already dealt Halep a trio of three-set defeats since May. But to make her part of that date, she’ll have to get past Caroline Wozniacki, who’s been solid this summer, and who had Maria’s number in New York back in 2010. Fresh from asking officials to check Ana Ivanovic’s blood pressure in Cincinnati, Sharapova has been hot-tempered of late, but her dogged, three-set-laden has been marked by some losses of late.
A LITTLE TOP-HEAVY: If a women’s Slam draw is looking a little top-heavy yet again, well, that’s because it is. There are 20 Slam titles in the first quarter (Serena, Sam Stosur, Francesca Schiavone, Ana Ivanovic), six in the second (ailing Vika Azarenka, the mercurial Svetlana Kuznetsova and Petra Kvitova), 12 in the fourth (Venus Williams and Sharapova), and a grand total of zero slam titles in the third quarter, where Montreal champ Aga Radwanska and Angelique Kerber reign as top seeds.
BOTTLED GENIE: Since her blowout loss to Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final, Eugenie Bouchard has won one match and lost three. She found herself on the wrong end of a pair of 6-0 sets against American Shelby Rogers, and won only four games against Sam Stosur in New Haven. Bouchard is bringing a leg injury to New York with her, so her chances of making the semis of all four Slams this year look slim. And yet, she’s in the second quarter, where all of the other top seeds—Kvitova, Vika Azarenka, and Dominika Cibulkova—look iffy.
FRENCH DRAMA SPECTACULAR: If you can’t score tickets for the Met and are craving some dramatic gestures, seek out the small court where France’s Alize Cornet and Amandine Hesse face off. Cornet never fails to deliver breathless theatrics, and Hesse’s histrionics in the first round of this year’s French Open generated a lot of talk.
KEYS TO SUCCESS? Going into Wimbledon, Madison Keys had the momentum of her first title win, and the confidence boost that she was playing on her best surface. But an injury left her still looking for her big Slam breakthrough. Her draw in NY isn’t easy, but it contains opportunity, since fellow big-belter Petra Kvitova—prone to early losses in New York—and a vulnerable Vika Azarenka are the nearest seeds.
AMERICAN WOMEN: The US had had a dozen players in the top 100 this summer, but It’s a hard-knock draw for many of the up-and-coming Americans. Taylor Townsend drew Serena. Alison Riske, who made the fourth round here last year, faces Ana Ivanovic in the first round. Tiny Lauren Davis was double-bageled by Carla Suarez Navarro (who, in turn was double-bageled by Serena) in NYC last year, and this year she has to deal another topspin artist, kick-serving Sam Stosur. Two intriguing first-round match ups: US Open Wild Card series winner Nicole Gibbs versus the erratic French talent Caroline Garcia, and Northern California 16-year-old Catherine “CiCi” Bellis—the youngest national girls’ 18s winner since Lindsay Davenport—versus Aussie Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova, who’s been struggling lately.
THE REBIRTH OF VENUS: For once, the draw goddesses have been kind to the Williams sisters: After tussling in the Montreal semis, Venus and Serena are on opposite sides of the draw. First up for Venus is fellow veteran Kimiko Date Krumm, who has tested her at Slams in the past. With the Dubai title and Montreal finalist honors this year, Vee looks set to make waves in New York for the first time in a while. Her third-round battle with eventual champ Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon was the match of the tournament on the women’s side. Should she and second seed Simona Halep square off in the fourth round in NYC, it’ll likely be a match to remember. But Venus might have to get past the dangerous, lightning-fast shotmaking of Camila Giorgi first.
