Monday, September 27, 2010
maria scharapowa
U.S. Open women's preview: Can Clijsters defend her title
The U.S. Open draws were announced on Thursday. Here are our first impressions of the women's bracket.
Caroline Wozniacki will quickly get to prove whether she's a deserving top seed or whether she's Dinara Safina 2.0. The 20-year-old had the misfortune of seeing maria scharapowa name drawn to the top half of her quarter, setting up a possible fourth-round matchup. On the bottom, Li Na and 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova are scheduled for a fourth-rounder of their own.
The bottom half of the left side is wide open for Jelena Jankovic For what is anyone's guess. No. 15-seed Yanina Wickmayer has been mired in a slump this summer, but a return to the semis at Flushing Meadows isn't out of the question. Wimbledon finalist Vera Zvonareva is perched at the bottom of the quarter and a potential crying jag in the form of young American Coco Vandeweghe sits in round two.
Melanie Oudin couldn't have asked for a better draw. The struggling teen gets a qualifier in round one and then another winnable match against either a qualifier or No. 117 Sophie Ferguson in the second. This is the most wide open of the quarters, which has to come as a relief to Venus Williams , who's only advanced past the quarters once since 2002.
Could Kim Clijsters get knocked off before the quarters? Sure. Is it likely? Not with this draw. Sam Stosur and Elena Dementieva round out the top half of the quarter. Coincidentally, both falling stars of women's tennis -- Ana Ivanovic and Dinara Safina -- are in the quarter.
Best first-round match: Daniela Hantuchova (24) vs. Dinara Safina
Most likely to be upset: Francesca Schiavone
Best potential quarterfinal: Kim Clijsters (2) vs. Sam Stosur
Semifinal predictions: maria scharapowa vs. Agnieszka Radwanska; Victoria Azarenka vs. Kim Clijsters
Finals prediction: Clijsters over maria scharapowa
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