US Open Women’s Preview

Written by: Staff on 27th August 2010

US Open Women's Preview

Kim Clijsters and her daughter after her 2009 US Open Womens Championship match against Caroline Wozniacki in Arthur Ashe Stadium at the Billie Jean King USTA Tennis Center in Flushing, New York on September 13, 2009. Kim Clijsters defeats Caroline Wozniacki by the score of 7-5, 6-3 to win the 2009 US Open Womens Championship. |

As promised, here are my picks for the women’s event at the 2010 US Open but I will expect you to erase from your memory anything you read in the next five or so minutes because, frankly, this year’s draw is so open that sticking a pin in the draw sheet might actually be a more reliable method of predicting a winner. The absence of Serena Williams after managing to cut her foot on a night out (as you do) has left another gap in a draw that was already missing Justine Henin. The good news is that someone will step into the void and that could mean a new face winning a grand slam title, which makes this US Open the perfect preparation for when 28-year-old Williams hangs up her racket.

The Big Favourite: Kim Clijsters

This is a marginal call, not least because the reigning US Open champion has been nursing a hip injury of late and showed at the Australian Open and Wimbledon (she missed the French Open with a foot injury) that she can become suddenly vulnerable when asked to go up a gear in the second week of slams. For all that, though, she has been champion at Flushing Meadows twice and appears a more consistent and confident player on the courts of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. This year’s tournament is also a little light on both obvious title contenders and grand slam champions and experience is likely to be at a premium. Whatever the result, you can expect to hear almost as much about adorable little Jada Lynch (a.k.a Kim Junior) as about her mum’s tennis, for both sealed a permanent place in the collective heart of New York last year.

The Not-Quite-As-Big-Favourite: Caroline Wozniacki

Wozniacki was a surprise finalist at Flushing Meadows a year ago but she has done a good enough job of building on that success in the intervening twelve months that a similar run this time is now expected. She comes to New York in a rich vein of form having won two titles in four tournaments and playing well on a surface which clearly suits her game. Much depends on her ability to handle the new pressure of being the top seed at a grand slam for the first time in her career. The way she has established her place near the top of the women’s game suggests she believes that she belongs up there and that is a promising sign for the great Dane.

Coming up on the Rails: Maria Sharapova

It seems strange to talk about a three-time grand slam champion in such terms but the Russian simply has not made enough headway in major tournaments in recent years to count her amongst the favourites this time around. The serve has never quite recovered from the lingering shoulder and pectoral problems which knocked her off course, though it has improved of late. That is thanks largely to the fact that Sharapova, who has always been a player to blast first and ask questions later, has adopted a policy of welting her second serve nearly as hard as her first. It does not make for consistency, but then that never really was Sharapova’s way of going about things. She has always been a player of both verve and bravery and – with apologies for the upcoming pun – that has served very well down the years.

The outsider: Svetlana Kuznetsova

This might be a stretch, but in the absence of some more reliable contenders the 2004 US Open champion could be in a position to do something special. She suggested by winning the title in San Diego that she is over the prolonged slump that followed her second major title at the 2009 French Open and she is a versatile and dangerous enough player to be troublesome if the mood takes her. She is, though, about as unpredictable as they come and she is as likely to lose in the first round as she is to win the title, so those of a nervous disposition should look away now.

Best-placed American: Venus Williams

Venus has not challenged for a major title away from Wimbledon in the last seven years but she won the Open in 2000 and 2001 and, in total, has seven major titles. You don’t have to be a math genius to assume that this gives her a significant advantage over the plethora of players in the draw who have won no titles at all. At 30, Williams is not exactly the springiest of chickens but she is still possesses a magnificent serve and groundstrokes which still have enough pep to scare off all but the very best. She is capable of winning the title but more realistic is that she will go far deeper in the draw than the likes of Melanie Oudin, Coco Vandeweghe, Vania King et al. Oudin is probably Williams’ biggest competition in this category but the combination of having ranking points to defend and the increased expectation from last year’s heroics may weigh heavily on her young shoulders. Her form this year suggests that they are doing so already.

Topics: Australian Open, Billie Jean King, Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Caroline Wozniacki, Collective Heart, Foot Injury, French Open, Grand Slam Champions, Grand Slam Title, Heart Of New York, Jada, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, National Tennis Center, New Face, Open Champion, Open Women, Rich Vein, Serena Williams, Title Contenders