Chaos is set to erupt in New York as the US Open officially gets underway with numerous title contenders starting their bid for the final grand slam title of the year.
The Arthur Ashe stadium will feature Angelique Kerber as she bids to win her second major title and edge herself closer to dethroning Serena Williams from the top of the rankings. Awaiting Kerber in the first round will be Slovakia’s Polona Hercog. The second seed currently leads 3-2 in their head-to-head, however, it will be the first meeting between the two since 2011.
Following Kerber on the premier court will be former champion Rafael Nadal against Denis Istomin. The Spaniard has endured a troublesome summer after being hampered with a wrist injury and has only played in two tournaments since June. At the Rio Olympic Games Nadal had to settle for fourth place after losing to Kei Nishikori in the bronze medal playoff. Then at the Connecticut Open, he suffered a shock loss to Borna Coric. Despite his lacklustre summer, Nadal will still be high in confidence against Istomin. He has defeated the Uzbek four times before and has only ever dropped one set to him.
Another player experiencing issues with their wrist is world No.1 Novak Djokovic. The Serbian recently admitted that he is struggling with the issue for almost a month.
“The Wrist hasn’t been ideal for the last three and a half weeks.” Djokovic recently said. “But I’m doing everything in my power with the medical team to make sure that I’m as close to 100 per cent as possible during the course of this tournament, at least for the beginning of it.”
Djokovic will start his campaign against former Wimbledon semifinalist Jerzy Janowicz, who has also endured his fair share of injury setbacks. The first round match will be the first meeting between the two players and a lot of attention will to paid to how the wrist holds up for the world No.1. Djokovic will be eager to display a good show in New York following his shock third round defeat at Wimbledon.
Outside of the premier court, French Open champion Garbine Muguruza will start her bid against Belgian qualifier Elise Mertens, Svetlana Kuznetsova will continue her 13-year rivalry against Francesca Schiavone in what will be their 16th meeting and Johanna Konta faces home favourite Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
In the men’s draw, Milos Raonic faces a potentially tricky match against Germany’s Dustin Brown on court 17. Last year Brown defeated Nadal at Wimbledon. It will be the first ever meeting between the two. 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic plays Brazil’s Rogerio Dutra Silva is what is expected to be a straightforward encounter for the Croatian. Finally, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will play Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi, who will be playing in his first grand slam main draw since 2012.
