US OPEN, Flushing Meadows, NY, USA, GRAND SLAM (Women)

[Moxie]

DATE: August 29 – September 11, 2016
SURFACE: HARD
PRIZE MONEY: $21,862,744
FIELD SIZE: 128
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Flavia Pennetta

Seeds:

1. Serena Williams, United States
2. Angelique Kerber, Germany
3. Garbiñe Muguruza, Spain
4. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland
5. Simona Halep, Romania
6. Venus Williams, United States
7. Roberta Vinci, Italy
8. Madison Keys, United States
9. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia
10. Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic
11. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain
12. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia
13. Johanna Konta, Great Britain
14. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
15. Timea Bacsinszky, Switzerland
16. Samantha Stosur, Australia
17. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia
18. Barbora Strycova, Czech Republic
19. Elena Vesnina, Russia
20. Kiki Bertens, Netherlands
21. Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania
22. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine
23. Daria Kasatkina, Russia
24. Sloane Stephens, United States
25. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland
26. Caroline Garcia, France
27. Laura Siegemund, Germany
28. Sara Errani, Italy
29. CoCo Vandeweghe, United States
30. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia
31. Misaki Doi, Japan
32. Timea Babos, Hungary

Photo: Kiu Kaffir/Discuss.Tennis

The Tournament:

The US Open Tennis Championships is a hardcourt tennis tournament that began life as the U.S. National Championship in 1881.

The venue for the championship is the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City. It’s former home was the Forest Hills complex.

The tournament consists of men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles, and mixed doubles, with additional tournaments for senior, junior, and wheelchair players.

The US Open is the only Grand Slam that employs tiebreakers in every set of a match.

Photo: Kiu Kaffir/Discuss.Tennis

The Players:

Photo by Passion Leica

Serena Williams enters the tournament as favourite and will be looking to add a 23rd grand slam singles title to pass Steffi Graf on the all-time leaderboard.

Williams is also locked in a battle to retain her Number 1 ranking on the WTA tour. Angelique Kerber was one match from taking the ranking at Cincinnati and will compete for the slot again in New York. Whoever emerges as world number one will be secondary to the championship, but it’s still an interesting side issue to monitor. In another sub-plot, Serena also has the opportunity to pass Graf’s record of 186 consecutive weeks at the top of the rankings.

Kerber has had a tremendous year, winning the Australian Open and finishing runner-up at Wimbledon.

Garbine Muguruza, the French Open champion will also look to make inroads into the tournament. The third seed hasn’t been a factor in previous US Opens but also has an outside shot to compete for the number one ranking.

2015 winner Flavia Pennetta will not return to defend her title, having retired but Venus Williams, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Sam Stosur are other former champions who will be in the draw.

The other main contenders include Agnieszka Radwanska, Simona Halep, and Petra Kvitova. Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion arrives at Flushing Meadows in her best form of the year.

There are a number of dangerous unseeded players in the draw. Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Lucie Safarova and Olympic champion Monica Puig will both be looking to make an impact. Puig’s incredible run in Rio, puts her firmly in the spotlight.

About New York

Beyond everything you already know about New York, it is a city of islands…and not just its most famous one, Manhattan. Quaint City Island, iconic and outrageous Coney Island, suburban Randall’s Island, historic Governor’s Island, once a military fortress, then a Coast Guard base and now a city park dedicated to installation art. The city is surrounded by waterways. Marinas abound, and many New Yorkers commute via ferry.

We embrace summer here, as it is rather short. There are beautiful beaches within the city limits. And we don’t always eat posh food. Summer is for Long Island oysters, steamer clams, lobster rolls, and hot dogs…Nathan’s Famous in Coney Island on the boardwalk is the one.

As the summer winds down, Fashion Week begins. The lazy days are soon to be over, and attitude will come back in full force.

Tourism Guide:

 

[teddytennisfan]

NICE shots. come to think of it -- summer is almost over -- i better make sure i go to coney island beach soon!! i always promise myself every summer and saunter on the boardwalk -- i'm going -- and NEVER do, waht a stupid thing...lol. one thing to be said about a certain player -- who has made an amazing RETURN to the top 10!! VENUS WILLIAMS -- amazing lady!! amazing.

 

[britbox]

The Draw for the US Open 2016

 

[britbox]

Not the cosiest of first round draws for Serena. Ekaterina Makarova is not an easy first round match - recent Top 10 player and probably brimming with confidence after striking gold in the Olympic doubles.

Simona has a tricky first rounder also with Kirsten Flipkens.

Also a tough one for Petra, she'll face Ostapenko in the opener. Errani gets Shelby Rogers and Angie has Hercog.

 

[britbox]

NICE shots. come to think of it -- summer is almost over -- i better make sure i go to coney island beach soon!! i always promise myself every summer and saunter on the boardwalk -- i'm going -- and NEVER do, waht a stupid thing...lol. one thing to be said about a certain player -- who has made an amazing RETURN to the top 10!! VENUS WILLIAMS -- amazing lady!! amazing.

Yeah, would be nice to see Venus roll back the years and have a decent run here... Tough draw for Serena, teddy.

 

[britbox]

Sloane Stephens has dropped out with a foot injury, she was seeded 24, so all the seeds after that have bumped up one. Olympic champion Monica Puig is now seeded at 32.

 

[Billie]

Yeah, tough first round for Serena. I think Makarova had some of the best results in majors here in New York.

 

[Billie]

NICE shots. come to think of it -- summer is almost over -- i better make sure i go to coney island beach soon!! i always promise myself every summer and saunter on the boardwalk -- i'm going -- and NEVER do, waht a stupid thing...lol. one thing to be said about a certain player -- who has made an amazing RETURN to the top 10!! VENUS WILLIAMS -- amazing lady!! amazing.

Is Cyclone roller coaster still there and operational, Teddy?

Absolutely amazing feat by Venus, I agree.

 

[Moxie]

The Cyclone is still there, still made of wood, and one of the scariest anywhere, (in large part because of the wood.) LOL!

 

[teddytennisfan]

Yeah, would be nice to see Venus roll back the years and have a decent run here... Tough draw for Serena, teddy.

it does look like that Britbox.
i guess that's just how it will have to be.

but it's somewhat open even if serena will still be the girl to beat in ALL women's tennis anyway.

but others are feeling confident against her .

for me the other queer thing is how far CAROLINE WOZNIACKI has fallen. it's amazing but probably just goes to show that there's still that old rule in tennis.

running fast and putting the balls back in - can only go so far -- if you don't have REAL WEAPONS -- ............

 

[teddytennisfan]

The Cyclone is still there, still made of wood, and one of the scariest anywhere, (in large part because of the wood.) LOL!

oh yes - still there. but they've made big upgrades in the area - i went there some months ago - just to see coney island..and i think it's good that they KEPT some of the old atmosphere.

 

[teddytennisfan]

Is Cyclone roller coaster still there and operational, Teddy?

Absolutely amazing feat by Venus, I agree.

like Moxie said - it's still there. i think they did good in keeping up the atmosphere as a place for entertainment - and there's always the beach and boardwalk that NOTHING - no attraction in the city can replace or offer. it would be different if that combination

beach - boardwalk AND entertainment disappeared. like what happened in south london, isn't it Britbox?

people need a place like that where they can shed 'class' and just be people, u know?

 

[teddytennisfan]

Is Cyclone roller coaster still there and operational, Teddy?

Absolutely amazing feat by Venus, I agree.

it's of course even more ''russian'' now - slavic really because that's where many of the slavic peoples like to be. i used to hang out there once in a while with russian friends, lol, drink a little beer and get the caviar at the boardwalk, hehe.

 

[teddytennisfan]

there are those gardens and PARKS at the beach in JONES BEACH? oh my god -- as beautiful as anything you can see.

 

[Billie]

Cyclone - that was my first and only ride on a rollercoaster.

 

[britbox]

US Open Preview with Pam Shriver.

 

[britbox]

Venus Williams Interview, Pre-US Open

 

[teddytennisfan]

US Open Preview with Pam Shriver.

i can;t help it -- but i recall

PAM SHRIVER -- in the 1980's when SHE was being groomed by her friends Martina Navratilova and Christ Evert as the top players to become the next ''best player" -- as shriver was herself trying to carve out a challenge to THEM in singles and also playing doubles --

that as , i think, world number 4 or something -- the then-very-young steffi graf suddenly came from almost out of nowhere to ''crash the party" defeating the top -

there was this match in germany -- and as she was losing to steffi - shriver became so upset - that she resorted to literally heckling graf with farcical imitations of how steffi prepared her serves and stuiff like that.

ewe....if i remember correctly - steffi was then so upset herself - after the match which she did win --she was crying in the tunnel exit..

there was always that thinly veiled resentment from ''them" in those years...

firs ttowards steffi - later towards the williamses. while they - along with mary carillo would pump up the importance of any OTHER against steffi in her time or the williamses.

i do not forget such things.

and chris evert herself - while commentating one time during steffi's final years - openly admitted it :

"those early years as steffi challenged us -- we DID treat her unfairly..we did feel her as a threat and didn't really like that she was not as sociable...and it was unfair to her".

and even added :

"so many years later -- as it turned out steffi and i had become neighbors when she moved in to boca raton -- and then i had my baby -- one day the doorbell rang -- and there she was standing and asked me if she could babysit for me knowing that i was looking around as i had a trip ...and i realized what a wonderful person she really is...and how wrong we were about her".

 

[teddytennisfan]

Not the cosiest of first round draws for Serena. Ekaterina Makarova is not an easy first round match - recent Top 10 player and probably brimming with confidence after striking gold in the Olympic doubles.

Simona has a tricky first rounder also with Kirsten Flipkens.

Also a tough one for Petra, she'll face Ostapenko in the opener. Errani gets Shelby Rogers and Angie has Hercog.

errani doesn't really have to hit balls to win --

she only has to go out there and scream the way she does.....and beat every opponent for the title through sheer annoyance.

hehe.

 

[britbox]