After a mixed past two seasons, Ekaterina Makarova is unseeded for the US Open but will be very dangerous in the final Grand Slam of the year.
The Russian has an extremely tough, but interesting opener against Serena Williams; Makarova will not be an easy opponent for the world number one.
Notable results to date
Makarova has always struggled at the smaller tournaments, and this has continued this season as she has failed to make any singles final.
She has made the fourth round of both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. In Melbourne, she beat the likes of Karolina Pliskova before losing to Johanna Konta, whilst in SW19 she beat Petra Kvitova before losing to doubles partner Elena Vesnina.
The Russian also made the quarterfinal in Miami, though has had some other disappointing results. She lost in the second round of the French Open to Yanina Wickmayer and also lost early in Indian Wells, Madrid, and Rome.
Hard court results heading into Flushing Meadows
The Russian started her preparation at the Rogers Cup, and she did not get off to a good start, falling to Madison Brengle in a tight three-set match.
Makarova then moved on to the Olympic Games in Rio. She started off with an extremely tough win over Cagla Buyukakcay (she saved three match points), and then once again came from a set down to beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova; she then fell to Petra Kvitova in three sets.
The final pre-US Open warm-up tournament for Makarova was in New Haven. She beat both Sara Errani and Anastasija Sevastova in straight, before once again losing to Kvitova; this time in straight sets.
Best US Open result
Having made the quarterfinals in 2013, the Russian went one better by reaching the semifinals in 2014.
Seeded 17th, Makarova started with a comfortable win over Grace Min and continued in impressive fashion as she eased past Polona Hercog in the second round and Zarina Diyas in the third. Shen then faced the high-flying Eugenie Bouchard; this match was tighter, though the Russian once again won in straight sets to match her result from the previous year.
In the quarterfinals, Makarova faced Victoria Azarenka, who, despite her struggles in 2014, was the favorite for this match. However, the Russian was in control throughout, and eased to other straight sets victory to make her first Grand Slam semifinal.
She lost in the last four to Serena Williams, though this run started a rich vein of form for her.
How Makarova’s game translates to the surface
Makarova is an aggressive player and this is particularly handy at the US Open, as the hard courts enable her to effectively try to dictate play; furthermore, she is a pretty good server, so she can often try to take control of points early on.