Serena Williams and the US Open Field of Competition
Serena Williams has pretty much done it all in women’s tennis, except for one big thing: complete the singles Grand Slam. At press time, the World’s undisputed No. 1 player is the even-money favorite to win this year’s US Open, starting August 31 at Flushing Meadows. A victory in this tournament will give Williams all four major tournaments in 2015, putting her on the Mount Rushmore of tennis alongside Maureen Connolly (1953), Margaret Court (1970) and Steffi Graf (1988). With a 43-2 record this year, Williams coming off a loss to No. 12-ranked Belinda Bencic in Toronto. Williams pulled off the first set before focus got lost in the second and committing eight double-faults; she rallied briefly in the third set before Bencic prevailed 3-6, 7-5, 6-4. While the loss was tiough, there doesn’t seem to be much concern over Williams’ right elbow, which caused her to skip the Swedish Open last month. Trailing Williams on the 2015 US Open odds list are Victoria Azarenka (+600) and Maria Sharapova (+800). Azarenka is having a rough year at No. 21 on the WTA rankings and has yet to win at Flushing Meadows. Meanwhile, No. 2 Sharapova earned her lone US Open victory back in 2006.