Today Monday August 28 ,2017 would mark the kickoff, of the 137th edition of the US Open tennis championships at the Flushing Meadows, New York, USA
Defending Champions
Men's Singles
Stanislas Wawrinka(Swiss)
Women's Singles
Angelique Kerber(Germany)
Men's Doubles
Bruno Soares(Brazil)and Jamie Murray(UK)
Women's Doubles
Bethanie Mattek Sands(USA)and Lucie Safarova(Czech Republic)
Mixed Doubles
Laura Siegemund(Germany)and Mate Pavic(Croatia)
Can Karolina Pliskova retain his No. 1 spot after US Open tournament?
Apart from the defending champion Angelique Kerber, women's tennis will witness eight other contenders for the top rank slot
Now mathematically speaking, there are six other contenders for the World No. 1 spot – Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina, Caroline Wozniacki, Johanna Konta, Svetlana Kuznetsova, and runners-up in two grand slams this year Venus Williams.
Based on the points they need to defend and current tally on the WTA rankings chart, Halep, Svitolina, and Muguruza can claim the top spot in women's tennis if they can bag the US Open crown, no matter how others on the list come out.
Well, for other players, it depends on how the rest perform as each round unveil at the Flushing Meadows.
Can Maria Sharapova mark a blockbuster return to tennis action?
It was back in March 2016 that Maria Sharapova had come forth to say that she was tested positive for a heart and blood boosting drug named meldonium, in the year's Australian Open and ergo faced a suspension for 24 months. However, later the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced it to 15 months.
She marked a return back to tennis action after she received a wildcard to three WTA tournaments – Stuttgart, Madrid and Italian. However, it didn't appeal to fellow tennis players who rather reckoned that she should have worked herself up while some felt she should have faced a lifetime ban.
Grand Slam was indeed her target, but she was denied a wildcard to Roland Garros by the organisers and then withdrew from the Wimbledon owing to injury. She even skipped both the Montreal Open and the Cincinnati Masters to be fully fit to take on the action at the Flushing Meadows
So whom will she face in the first round? – World No. 2 Simona Halep, the most consistent player this season, who also missed out being the World No. 1 thrice in the last four months. Such is her dominance. But on the other hand, she faces the former 2004 US Open Champion who would surely leave no stone unturned to mark a blockbuster return to tennis action.
Will she prove to be yet another unfortunate opponent for Halep or will the Romanian thump down Sharapova in their first-round battle?
Could the Flushing Meadows finally witness a Federer-Nadal duel?
37 times. Yes, 37 times have Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal met at a tennis court to script one of the greatest sporting rivalries of all time. But none, not even one was witnessed at the hardcourts of Billie Jean King Stadium.
But this time the American crowd might get their wish fulfilled. With both drawn into the same half of the US Open draw, there are high chances that there might be a semi-final showdown at the centre court.
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