The first day of the US Open will reach its climax on Monday evening, with Serena Williams entering the running race, who, should she lose against Montenegro Danka Kovinic, could play at the last Arthur Ashe Court. One of his brilliant career.
However, a loss in this first round would not constitute the American’s last match at the 23rd Grand Slam, as she is engaged to her older sister Venus in the women’s doubles.
Quebec Lila Fernandez will begin the competition for Louis Armstrong by facing Usain Auden in the evening, around 9 pm.
Among the leaders who will follow, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas on Louis Armstrong, as well as Quebec’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and American Taylor Fritz on the runway.
Auger-Aliassime plays in the early afternoon against Swiss Alexander Richard, right after the duel between Bianca Andreescu of Ontario and Harmony Tan.
The other Canadian is Rebecca Marino, who will play Poland’s Magdalena Fritsch in the afternoon.
Previous edition winner, Daniil Medvedev, will open Arthur Ashe, where he was crowned last year, smashing Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam dream, absent due to not being vaccinated. He will face American Stefan Kozlov.
At the same stadium, Australian Nick Kyrgios will play in the final match against his compatriot Thansi Kokinakis.
Serena’s last dance?
The Williams sisters, who together have won 14 Grand Slam titles, including the US Open twice, will play on Wednesday or Thursday. But for Serena, considered the greatest player of all time, although still far from the Majors record set by Australia’s Margaret Court, singles are the dominant one.
And the confrontation with Kovinich, ranked 80th in the world, will already be for her a match for survival.
“I hope you enjoy,” said four-time champion John McEnroe. »
However, she was beaten as soon as she entered the competition in June at Wimbledon by world 115th, Harmony Tan, for her return to the singles after a year of absence, due to a leg injury. Then, the former world number one, now down to 413, only had one lap in Toronto, then lost to Cincinnati.
So Kovinic has it all out of the trap, reaching the third round at Roland Garros in May where she only surrendered to world number 1 Iga Swiatek, and at the Australian Open in January where she privately beat Britain’s Emma Radocano, all capped by her surprise victory in the New York a few months ago.
Another element to keep in mind, the devastating Serena Williams still inspires respect but no longer intimidates her opponents as much as she did at the height of her fame.
On the other hand, she will be able to count on the support of a boiling New York crowd, on the largest and most noisy tennis arena in the world. Her fans will be behind her even more because every match could now be her last.
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