Pressure all on Serena as she targets Graf ’s world rankings record

TWELVE months after failing to secure the title that would have seen her become only the fourth woman to claim a pure calendaryear Grand Slam of the sport’s four major prizes, Serena Williams will again go into the US Open under huge pressure,

After three and a half years at the top of the world rankings, Williams knows that only victory in her home Grand Slam, which begins on Monday, will guarantee that she remains No1.

Angelique Kerber would have taken top spot had she not lost to Karolina Pliskova in last weekend’s Cincinnati final.

Williams has more ranking points to defend at Flushing Meadows than Kerber. The Australian Open champion can become No1 by matching or bettering the performance of Williams, who must make the semi-finals to keep her chances alive. Should the American and the German slip up, Garbine Muguruza or Agnieszka Radwanska could overtake both women.

By winning Wimbledon, Williams equalled Steffi Graf ’s Open era record of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. In a fortnight, she could also match the German’s record of 186 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings.

However, Williams has made only one appearance since Wimbledon, losing to Elina Svitolina in the third round at the Olympics, and pulled out of Cincinnati with a shoulder injury.

Mary Joe Fernandez was with Williams in Rio. “She definitely was not 100 per cent physically with her shoulder,” said the United States Fed Cup captain, who will be part of the ESPN commentary team here.

“I think she made the right choice by not playing in Cincinnati. I think it was tough for her because the No1 ranking is important to her and she’d like to not just tie Steffi Graf for No1 at consecutive weeks, but she’d like to break it.”

Kerber, meanwhile, insists she is not thinking about becoming world No1. “It if happens one day, it happens, but I will not be putting pressure on myself,” she said.

Unless Radwanska wins the title in New Haven this weekend, Britain’s Johanna Konta will top the US Open Series Bonus Challenge, which rewards performances in the run-up to Flushing Meadows. Konta, who took the title in Stanford last month, would then have the opportunity to win $1million in bonus prize money at the US Open.

Heather Watson and Naomi Broady are also in the main draw, while Laura Robson reached the final round of qualifying by beating Bulgaria’s Isabella Shinikova 6-4, 6-4.