Van der Merwe a man on a mission
When three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray announced he was having a metal plate inserted into his hip, in January 2019, most people – including Murray himself – thought that was the end of the road for him. Yet, 19 months later, he is back and ready to take on a Grand Slam again and it will be the first time since 2017 where he is not “worried” about his fitness. The former world No.1 is not expected to contend for the title, but he will be a player that everyone else in the draw will want to avoid. He took out world No.7 Alexander Zverev in last week’s warm-up tournament, proving he still has the fire and skills, but how his body can stand up to the best-of-five-set matches will be key to how far the Scot can go.
Few will look past Novak Djokovic as the probable men’s champion. The world No.1 is undefeated in 2020 – a run of 23 games – and won the Western & Southern Open at Flushing Meadows on Saturday. Not only is he the best player in the world but the absence of defending champion Rafael Nadal and five-time US Open champion Roger Federer further strengthens his chances. By winning a fourth title he would move to 18 Grand Slam titles, one behind Nadal and two behind Federer, with time and form on his side. The Serbian is streets ahead of the rest of the field in terms of consistency, but Dominic Thiem is likely to be his biggest challenger, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and Zverev will hope for breakthrough Grand Slams.
Not many people would have thought that Serena Williams would still be waiting to equal Margaret Court’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles when she won her 23rd all the way back in January 2017. The American had 18 months off following the birth