Going into the US Open, there's only one storyline that matters. Serena Williams completed her second "Serena Slam" at Wimbledon and heads to New York, where she's the three-time defending champion, looking to finish off the first calendar-year Grand Slam in 27 years. Serena's already on the short list for greatest player of all-time, and if she can pull this off, it would further cement her claim for that title.
Not to get ahead of ourselves, but if Serena does win seven matches here, we would've been witness to one of the most historic years in sports history. American Pharoah ended the 37-year Triple Crown drought, and now Serena Williams has a chance to end the 27-year Grand Slam drought. There were many people that had doubts we'd ever see either one again. Now we might see both in the same year. And the feats might be completed 11 miles apart.
As Serena chases history, the pressure's only going to mount with each match. She obviously knows that. But I doubt it'll have any effect. In fact, in a weird way, she had more pressure going to the US Open last year. She hadn't won a Slam all year, having been upset early in each of the other three, and was still sitting on 17, one shy of tying Chrissy and Martina's career total. What a difference a year makes! Now she's at 21, one away from tying Steffi Graf. And it was Graf, of course, who had that last Grand Slam in 1988 (when she added an Olympic gold medal, too, which is obviously something Serena can't do this year).
Serena's such a heavy favorite, that it will be considered an upset if anybody else wins the tournament. When she's on her game, she's unbeatable. She's been unbeatable for the better part of the last two years. And on the off chance she does actually lose, it'll be early. At Wimbledon it was the third round where she played the British girl, had the crowd against her and came back to win 7-5 in the third. Then she played Venus in the fourth round and it wasn't close. Neither was the quarter, semi or final.
The whole tennis world is rooting for her to do it. Every match she plays will be a must-watch. And that Thursday night semifinal against Sharapova will be the ticket of the tournament, even if we all know what the result of that one will be. As for who she might play in the finals, I kinda like Caroline Wozniacki to set up a rematch and be the only thing between Serena and history.
They definitely didn't do Serena any favors with the draw. The top half is definitely tougher. She could have to play, in succession, Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys, Venus and Maria just to have her date with history. But when you're trying to do something that hasn't been done in a generation, it's not supposed to be easy. I said before Wimbledon that winning there would be the hard one. If she won Wimbledon, there was no way she was losing here I said two months ago. Now that she has, I really believe that.
And you don't have to be a Serena Williams fan to want to see it. How many chances will we have to witness a Grand Slam? Steffi was the last one to even attempt one when she did it in 1988. As a fan of the sport, it's something I've never seen and may never see again. Of course I'm hoping she does it.
Just imagine for a second if Novak Djokovic hadn't been upset by Stan Wawrinka in the French Open final. Then we'd be going into the US Open with a chance at not just one calendar-year Grand Slam, but two. Djokovic can still make history of his own here, though. He's looking to become the first man to reach the finals at all four Slams since Roger's incredible run of 10 straight Grand Slam finals.
Speaking of Federer, he hasn't been to a US Open final since Juan Martin Del Potro ended his five-year winning streak in 2009 (that was the first of the six consecutive Monday finals). Last year was his chance to add another US Open title to his resume. He played that second semi after Djokovic lost to Nishikori, only to get upset himself by eventual champion Marin Cilic. Federer enters this year's US Open in almost the exact same situation. He lost to Djokovic in the Wimbledon final and looked great during the summer hardcourt series, capped by a win over Djokovic in Cincinnati last week. But he, of course, has Tomas Berdych, his own personal foil, in his quarter of the draw. Roger can't get away from that guy.
Federer and Nadal have never played at the US Open, and they can't this year until the finals. Clay Boy is seeded eighth, so he was likely going to have to play one of the other three in the quarters. It ended up being Djokovic, the man he's played in three of the last five finals here. They also met in the quarters in Paris, where Nadal finally lost a French Open match. Will the result be the same at Flushing Meadows?
I think so. Novak Djokovic is the best hardcourt player on the planet, and it's hard to believe he's only won the US Open. His record in US Open finals is somehow 1-4, and he had that semifinal loss to Nishikori last year. An interesting sidebar about last year's out-of-left-field final between Nishikori and Cilic is that Nishikori has used those points to jump up to No. 4 in the rankings (but it also means he's got a lot of points to defend), while Cilic has been battling injuries all year. Cilic is seeded ninth, and they could actually meet in the other quarterfinal on the top half of the draw.
On the bottom half you've got Wawrinka and Murray, as well as Federer. Andy Murray finally got that first Grand Slam title here three years ago, and he's always around late at the US Open. Wawrinka, meanwhile, used a semifinal appearance here in 2013 to really start his ascendance to the top of the rankings. That would be a very fun quarterfinal matchup. With Federer-Berdych, I wonder if it's something that's in Roger's head. Because if it is, that's not good.
If Federer didn't have to play Berdych, I'd have him penciled right on through to a rematch of the Wimbledon final against Djokovic. But with so much uncertainty surrounding that match, I can't do that. Instead, I'll say it's Murray. Although, if Federer plays someone else or beats Berdych in the quarter, I like him to win the semi, too. Either way, it's not going to matter. Novak Djokovic will remind us all that he's also having a pretty good year (although not quite as good as Serena's) with his third Grand Slam title of 2015.
Even though this US Open is really all about Serena, I'd be amiss not to mention the changes to the tournament this year. No more Connors-Krickstein at rain delays. After 47 years on CBS, ESPN is the exclusive broadcaster this year. That also means the schedule changes the USTA promised the players will take effect. Both genders now get a day off between the semis and finals. They added a Thursday night women's semifinals session, with the men's semis now during the day on Friday, and the finals moved back to Saturday/Sunday. So, hopefully, the tournament will actually end on Sunday for the first time since 2008. Provided the rain cooperates.
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