Ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year, WTA's world number one Serena Williams has publicly stated she's not putting any pressure on herself to be victorious at the US Open.
The 33-year-old has asserted her dominance over the years and continues to prove why she's undoubtedly one of the best tennis players to grace the game - and she could match the achievement of Steffi Graf, where the German won all four Grand Slam titles in a calendar year back in 1988.
Serena a huge favourite to prevail
It's not a surprise that Serena is a huge favourite to prevail in America over the two-week period, and she gets her tournament underway tomorrow with an encounter against 25-year-old Russian-born Vitalia Diatchenko in the first round.
After impressive displays in both the French Open and Wimbledon recently, the "Serena Slam" has been in the media spotlight, but Williams is eager to play down claims that she could go all the way - just taking one match at a time in the process.
STAT - Serena has not lost in New York since 2011, where Sam Stosur beat her in the tournament's final.
| Steffi Graf | 22 |
| Serena Williams | 21 |
| Chris Evert | 18 |
| Martina Navratilova | 18 |
| Margaret Court | 11 |
Although, she's not putting any extra pressure on herself to win
The six-time US Open champion had her say, when questioned by the press in the pre-tournament conference.
"I never really thought I'd be in this position - talking about records, passing Steffi Graf, I just grew up trying to be the best I could, be the best I could. I've just worked as hard as I could, but I don't put that pressure on myself to do anything here [at the US Open] because I obviously am going to be excited to compete next year, to keep going."
Quotes' source: Sky Sports
With the US Open starting this afternoon, VAVEL will have all of the coverage - in one of the most eagerly-anticipated tennis tournaments of the year.