The wait is finally over – the U.S Open is here! The final Grand Slam of the year is about to kick off in New York, and here is your guide to the first day’s play.
Second seed Simona Halep gets the honours of opening proceedings on Arthur Ashe Stadium, the main court here at Flushing Meadows, as she takes on a wildcard from the States, Danielle Collins. Halep has been a superb Grand Slam performer in 2014, reaching the quarters in Melbourne, the final in Paris, and the semis in London, with those performances a big part of why she is the second highest-ranked player in the world. Danielle Collins received her wildcard due to winning the NCAA Singles title. The 20 year-old currently doesn’t have a ranking, however has been as high as 553. She played the qualifying draw at New Haven last week, losing to Su-Wei Hsieh 6-4 6-3. Nothing could prepare her for playing on Arthur Ashe against Simona Halep, who has “confidence in myself and in my game also”. This shapes to be a short campaign for the American.
A couple of tour veterans will go at it second up on Ashe, with Venus Williams taking on the ageless Kimiko Date-Krumm. The pair combine for 77 years of age, although don’t mention it to them, and have met three times in the past. Williams has won all three of those matches, most recently 7-6(3) 3-6 6-4 at Miami in 2013. Venus will be keen to advance further at her home major than she did last year, where she lost to Jie Zheng in the second round, and looked close to her best on her way to reaching the final in Montreal a few weeks ago. Date-Krumm has lost in the first round of all three Slams this year, albeit all in three sets, and the draw has not done her any favours in terms of breaking the duck. She will fight hard, but a victory for the home fans, and Venus Williams, looks the case here.
Australian Open champion, Stan Wawrinka, is the first male to step onto Centre Court on day 1, as he takes on Czech phenom, Jiri Vesely. This will be a tough first match for Wawrinka, whose form is highly questionable coming in. He lost early in both Toronto and Cincinnati, to Kevin Anderson and Julien Benneteau respectively, which has been the case for the 3rd seed ever since winning in Melbourne back in January. Vesely is a tough customer with big game suited to hard courts, having pushed Anderson to five sets at the Australian Open and almost beaten Andy Murray at Indian Wells. Wawrinka is defending semi-finalist’s points here, and will have to be switched on from the get-go if he doesn’t want to get knocked out in the first round.
The night session begins with two Russians named Maria, as compatriots Maria Kirilenko and Maria Sharapova square off. The two Russian beauties meet for the eighth time, with the more celebrated of the pair leading the H2H 5-2, however Kirilenko leads 1-0 at Grand Slam level, with a 7-6(4) 3-6 6-4 win at the 2010 Australian Open. Despite losing early in Montreal, Sharapova played well in Cincinnati, defeating Simona Halep before losing to Ana Ivanovic in the semis. In a stark contrast, Kirilenko hasn’t played since Wimbledon, and has suffered greatly with injury this year. The lack of preparation for her makes it very tough to see Sharapova falling at this early stage of the tournament.
The best is often saved for last, and while it may not be the most enthralling match, any time the world’s best player steps on the court, it’s a joy to look. World no. 1 Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a second U.S Open title as he plays Diego Sebastian Schwartzman, of Argentina. Schwartzman plays almost exclusively on clay, with just 13 matches on hard courts in the past five years, and at 5’7” will have no weapons to trouble Djokovic. Despite the poor form Djokovic displayed in Montreal and Cincinnati, he said “I'm feeling better and better as the days go by…Obviously I want to peak with my form in the US Open”. A relatively straightforward opening match is just what he would have wanted to gain the confidence needed to go all the way.
As Grand Slam viewers know, often the best matches in the early rounds can be found on the outside courts, and here are the pick of the bunch:
Mikhail Youzhny, the Russian veteran, looks to improve on a sub-par year as he takes on Aussie young gun, Nick Kyrgios. This match will be tight and could well go the distance.
Sara Errani faces Kirsten Flipkens, in a clash of two unorthodox styles. Neither have been unable to back-up strong 2013 seasons, and will be keen to avoid a first-round loss in Flushing Meadows.
Basket-case Frenchman, Benoit Paire, takes on countryman Julien Benneteau, with both players hitting some form in the lead-up tournaments. This match could end in a plethora of ways.
Francoise Abanda, the young Canadian talent, plays Sabine Lisicki, the 2013 Wimbledon champion. Abanda took Dominika Cibulkova to three sets in Montreal and could prove a tricky assignment.
The return of Grand Slam tennis is a joyous occasion, and eyes will be glued to the courts of New York as the world welcomes in the opening day of the final major of the year!