Williams sisters in same half of Open draw
There is no calendar Grand Slam to chase this year at the U.S. Open, but that doesn’t mean things will be any easier for world No. 1 and 22-time major champion
when the year’s final major begins Monday. A six-time winner in New York, Williams, 34, will get a stiff test at the start, meeting former top 10 player
in the first round. Former Slam champs and are projected to be midtournament foes.
Serena’s sister, is in the same half as the top seed, set to play No. 4 seed in the quarterfinals. Should the seeds hold, the winner of that match would advance to the semis against Serena, who potentially has her own tough test in in the quarterfinals. In the men’s draw, defending champion and world No.
was put in a stacked top half of the field. Djokovic, who had early losses at Wimbledon and the Olympics, will open against big-serving Djokovic then could meet who upset him earlier this year on clay, in the second round.
World No. 2 anchors the bottom half of the draw. The Wimbledon and Olympic champion has won 22 of his last 23 matches this summer.
is the No. 3 seed and also on the bottom half of the men’s draw. 1 until Ben Glass hit Matt Sullivan with a 22-yard touchdown pass with 24 seconds left.
“We did some things well, but there were some things we didn’t do well,” said St. George’s coach David Carter. “That’s the sign of a young team ... and you have to give them a lot of credit. They had a great game plan.”
Much of that defense centered on containing St. George’s star and 2015 Mr. Football winner Chase Hayden, who was largely bottled up a week after running for 246 yards on just eight carries against Jackson Trinity Christian.
“We forced him to run east-west,” said Stewart. “When a back like Hayden starts running downhill ...”
Charles Elliott had a 37-yard touchdown run for Briarcrest’s first score and Jackson Walker hit Tyler Badie with a 31-yard scoring strike.
Briarcrest will be after its first 3-0 start since 2012 next Friday when it hosts Jackson (Mississippi) Academy. The road doesn’t get any easier for St. George’s; the Gryphons visit Dandy Dozen No. 7 Lausanne, the only team to defeat them last year.