Serena Williams eyes Margaret Court record as rivals pull out of US Open
A host of US Open withdrawals has given Serena Williams a golden chance to match the majors record of Margaret Court.
A depleted US Open field will provide Serena Williams with a golden opportunity as she seeks a 24th career Grand Slam title to match Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal, top-ranked woman Ashleigh Barty and world number two Simona Halep are among a list of stars opting to skip the event because of concerns about COVID-19.
But Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are all still due to play when the tournament begins at Flushing Meadows in New York on August 31.
US Open organisers said Tuesday that the number of players willing to compete in the Grand Slam had exceeded their expectations despite several high-profile withdrawals over coronavirus fears.
“As far as our field, in context of the times and how different the world is, I couldn’t be happier. It’s exceeded our expectations,” United States Tennis Association chief executive Mike Dowse said.
“At the end of the day it’s our fans we are here to serve. They’re going to see some unbelievable world class tennis.”
Reigning US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada will not play, along with Ukraine’s fifth-ranked Elina Svitolina, number seven Kiki Bertens, eighth-ranked Swiss Belinda Bencic — whom Andreescu beat in the semi-finals last year — and past winner Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia, currently ranked 32nd in the world.
The only other players from the WTA top 10 remaining in the tournament are world number three Karolina Pliskova, reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who is ranked fourth in the world, and Naomi Osaka, who sits in 10th place.
That leaves 38-year-old Williams with a golden opportunity to equal Court’s Slam record, which has been in her sights since she won her last major tournament — the 2017 Australian Open.
Williams, who suffered a shock quarter-final defeat by Shelby Rogers at the recent WTA tournament in Lexington, Kentucky, has lost four Grand Slam finals since then, including last year’s US Open final to Andreescu.
New York was one of the hardest-hit US cities when COVID-19 first spiked in March and April, a temporary hospital even being established on indoor courts at the US Tennis Center.
Women’s tennis only got back under way early this month in Palermo, Italy, after the game’s virus-enforced shutdown came into effect five months early.
New York was one of the hardest-hit US cities when COVID-19 first spiked in March and April, and a temporary hospital was even raised on the indoor courts at the US Tennis Center.
The virus has largely been brought under control in New York, even as cases have risen elsewhere in the country.
Approximately 90 per cent of US Open participants have arrived in New York and are residing in two hotels as part of the competition’s “bubble,” with a few choosing to stay in private residences, Stacey Allaster, US Open Tournament Director, said on the conference call.
Allaster confirmed that if a player tests positive once the tournament starts then they will be automatically withdrawn under New York state guidelines.
Roger Federer was already ruled out of the tournament, which ends on September 13, as he recovers from knee surgery.
AFP
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