| venue: Flushing Meadows, New York date: August 29th to September 11th |
| coverage: Daily live text and radio commentary on the BBC Sport website, app and BBC Radio 5 Live |
America’s great Serena Williams bidding an impending court farewell will, of course, get most of the attention when the fascinating storyline-filled US Open kicks off on Monday.
British teenager Emma Radukhanu’s defense of the women’s singles title is another tempting proposition, and Britain’s number one men’s Cameron Norrie has made his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals major. I’m about to back it up with another strong performance in .
Spain’s Rafael Nadal has only played once since withdrawing from Wimbledon with injury, but he has a chance to break the men’s singles record of 22 major titles with his closest rivals. Novak Djokovic is banned.
The 35-year-old Serb, who missed out on a major title, has not been vaccinated against Covid-19 and as a result has not been cleared to enter the United States.
BBC Sport covers the major stories in New York as we head into the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.
How long will Serena’s breakup last?
There is only one place to start. It’s the end of Serena Williams as a tennis player.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who turns 41 next month, says she’s “evolving” away from tennis, and this will be the final tournament of her illustrious career.
I’m reluctant to use the word “retirement”, but that’s what Americans are trying to do. It means an emotional farewell awaits when you retire to
But when will it be? A deep run in singles is unlikely, and finally winning a 24th major title to match that record is almost a shock of Radukhanu’s proportions.
Williams too Competed in women’s doubles With her sister Venus after receiving a wild card.
Williams has played just five singles games this year, including a first-round thrashing of Raducanu in Cincinnati two weeks ago, and won Monday’s evening session (00:00 BST, Tuesday) at the Ashes. , against world number 80 Danka Kobinic of Montenegro.
A knee injury hampered her preparations for the Cincinnati tournament, pushing Monday’s first-round match against the Britons to Tuesday.
Williams looked better in practice this week at Flushing Meadows, but it will be interesting to see where she is when she faces Kovinic.
| Arthur Ashe Stadium | Louis Armstrong Stadium: |
| Daytime session from 17:00 BST | Daytime session from 16:00 BST |
| Daniil Medvedev (Russia) [1] v Stefan Kozlov (USA) | Francisco Cerundro (Arg) [24] v Andy Murray (GB) |
| Leoria Genjan (France) vs. Coco Gauff (USA) [12] | Simona Halep (Rom) [7] v Daria Snigur (Ukraine) |
| Madison Keys (USA) [20] v Dayana Yastremska (Ukraine) | |
| Night session from Tuesday 00:00 BST | Night session from Tuesday 00:00 BST |
| Danka Kovinic (Mno) v Serena Williams (US) | Stefanos Tsitsipas (Gre) [4] v Daniel Elahi Garan (Col) |
| Nick Kyrgios (Aus) [23] v Tanasi Kokkinakis (Aus) | Layla Fernandez (Can) [14] v Oceane Dodin (France) |
What does defending champion Radukhanu look like?
At this time last year, Radukhanu was an 18-year-old novice who was gearing up for his first overseas Grand Slam appearance after making it through the qualifiers.
After a stunning victory in New York, she’s now a household name, but the scrutiny is getting tougher as the world watches her grow with intrigue.
Unsurprisingly, it was a test transfer to the WTA Tour for the youngster, with pre-season preparations ruined by Covid and then hampered by minor injuries.
But, as we saw in Cincinnati, the US’ hard-court speed seems to be pulling the best out of No. 11 in the world.
Radukanu helped her win against Williams, and then followed it up with a stunning victory over fellow former world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka. Both performances are reminiscent of her confident clinical style that led her to her triumph in New York.
But there was a reality check in the next round.
Further concerns about her fitness arose at Flushing Meadows on Friday. He claimed that the wrist problem was not serious.
Raducane, who started Tuesday with a tough draw against France’s Alizee Cornet, looked much better on Saturday when she practiced with Wimbledon champion Jelena Ryvakina.
What about other British people?
7th seed in standings and form Cameron Norrie Guide of British Hope.
The 26-year-old left-hander continues his form by reaching the Wimbledon semifinals, making major breakthroughs, reaching the final in Los Cabos and the semifinals in Cincinnati.
Norrie is a Top 8 seed at Flushing Meadows.
Former world number one Andy Murray Since arriving in North America in 2012 to prepare for the majors they won in thrilling style, they have been out of the seeding after winning 3 of their 7 matches.
Dan Evans Despite being 20 years old, he is seeded in a career-high No. 20 as he hopes to do better than last year’s fourth-round finish. Jack Draper After advancing to the top 50 in the world, he made his overseas major finals debut.
Former UK number one Kyle Edmund At 26, he is playing in his first major singles event in almost two years, having been sidelined with a knee injury. Harriet Dart After being ranked in the top 100 in the world this year, I participated in the direct draw for the first time.
world number one Joe Salisbury and his American partner Rajeev Ram are the top seeds in men’s doubles who are looking to defend their titles. Neil Skupski He is also one of my favourites, having won six titles this year alongside Dutchman Wesley Koolhoff and ranked third in the world.
In wheelchair competitions, Alfie Hewett When Gordon Reed Team up for a sixth straight US Open doubles title and compete in singles. Lucy Shuker She has competed in both women’s events and is a two-time U.S. Open quad singles champion and four-time quad doubles champion. Andy Rapthorne We aim for further success.
Who are the other female candidates?
world number one Iga Spheretec Her dominance has waned since her 37th straight win at Wimbledon, but she remains the standout player this season.
The 21-year-old Swiatek, who has won four of his last eight games, is still considered a front-runner after his success on the hard courts earlier this year.
What is your main home wish? Coco Gauff. The 18-year-old American reached her first major final when she lost to Swiatek at Roland Garros, and her form on American hard courts (quarterfinals in San Jose and Toronto) is encouraging. .
Gauff doubles partner Pegula, The 28-year-old is also one of the WTA Tour’s best-selling singles players. This season, after reaching two major quarterfinals, she’s looking forward to a potential win at her home major after reaching the final in Madrid and the semifinals in Miami and Toronto.
two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep Cincinnati Champion of France, who returned to the top 10 in the world after winning the title in Toronto earlier this month. caroline garcia and brazilian Beatrice Haddad Maia – who lost to Halep in the final of the Canadian Open – is on a hot streak.
3rd seed for Greece Maria Sakkari While the Wimbledon champion, he hopes to go further after reaching the semi-finals last year. Rivakina Seeded 25th as no ranking points were awarded at the All England Club.
Can Nadal take advantage of Djokovic’s absence?
Djokovic won Wimbledon for the sixth time, moving within Nadal’s one major title, but missed the opportunity to join the Spaniard in New York.
The 36-year-old Nadal bolstered his hopes of winning a fifth U.S. Open title, but said it was “very sad news” that his rivals could not play.
The No. 2 seed has only played once since dropping out of Wimbledon with an abdominal injury in a loss to Croatia’s Borna Coric in Cincinnati, but has played at a “high level of intensity” in practice. He said he was.
“I’m doing things the best way I can. I hope I’m ready for action,” said Nadal, who plays Australia’s Linky Hijikata during Tuesday’s night session at Ash.
“That’s the only thing I can say. I want to be competitive enough to give myself a chance with the tools I have today.”
what about other men?
Djokovic’s absence, Nadal’s turmoil in preparation and recent lack of dominance by other players means the men’s draw is pretty open.
defending champion Daniil Medvedev While he’s a top seed and typically performs well on hard courts in North America, the 26-year-old has yet to peak in many ways.
After missing Wimbledon due to a Russian player being banned, Medvedev returned to win the title in Los Cabos but left early in Montreal, losing to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Cincinnati semifinals. rice field.
The draw is Australia’s Nick Kyrgios He has been one of the better players in recent months and was responsible for Medvedev’s loss in Montreal.
This season, Kyrgios appears to be more careful about what he has to do to be successful and realize his undoubted potential.
Thanks to that, the 27-year-old reached his first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon and continued his momentum by winning the title for Washington.
Spain No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz Having reached the quarterfinals last year, he is one of the favorites after a fantastic year in which the 19-year-old was ranked in the top five in the world.
Some other major seeds – including Tsitsipas, Norwegian Casper Rude American taylor fritz and of Spain Pablo Carreno Busta – May enter the equation after a decent recent run.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
