Serena and Maria headline day one of the US Open
● As if Serena Williams’s return to the US Open did not feel intriguing enough, after the unpleasant scenes that disfigured last year’s trophy presentation to Naomi Osaka, the draw has added another layer of fascination by pitting Williams against her old foe Maria Sharapova in the first round.
These two giants have not played since the Australian Open quarterfinal of 2016, where Williams extended her unbeaten streak in their one-sided rivalry to 18 matches and 12 years. That was also the match after which Sharapova gave the urine sample that resulted in her meldonium suspension.
Shoulder injury
Williams and Sharapova were supposed to meet at the French Open last year, but Williams pulled out, citing a pectoral injury. So, a lot has happened since that day at the Rod Laver Arena in 2016, when Williams was largely untroubled in driving home a 6-4 6-1 win.
Most recently, Williams was forced to retire from the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto with a back injury. As for Sharapova, her name has not been cropping up much in the tennis debate of late.
A regular target for paparazzi photographers, she made a strong showing in January with a run to the fourth round of the Australian Open, but has won only three more matches since then. Her long-term shoulder injury has been troubling her again and she was reported to have undergone another minor operation on it in March.
If Sharapova is coming toward the end of her tennis career — as many pundits suspect — then this draw has handed her a fine opportunity for a dramatic swansong. She may have suffered much at the hands of Williams over the past decade but her first victory in this head-to-head sequence is still surely the most memorable moment of her career, coming as it did in the 2004 Wimbledon final when she was 17.
Even at 37, Williams remains the chief American hope in every event she enters. She remains one Major short of equalling Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24, despite contesting three Grand Slam finals — all of them defeats — in the past 14 months.
Top-seeded Naomi Osaka opens against Russia’s 93rd-ranked Anna Blinkova and could face a third-round date against 15year-old American Coco Gauff, who eliminated Venus Williams in the first round at Wimbledon in a run to the last 16.
Roger Federer
Meanwhile, top-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic could face Roger Federer in the semifinals and Rafael Nadal in the final under the draw.
Djokovic, who defeated Federer last month in an epic Wimbledon final for his 16th Grand Slam, had the 20-time grand slam champion and third seed dropped into his half of the draw. Djokovic is 26-22 alltime against Federer and 28-26 for his career against Nadal.
Federer and Nadal, who have never played at the US Open, can only meet in the final. —