Expect tears, cheers, excitement and spillage when Andy Murray and Serena Williams take to the court to headline the action on the opening day of the US Open.
The 40-year-old American, world number 80, will face Montenegro’s Denka Kovinic in the night match at Arthur Ashe Stadium (midnight in the UK) and all eyes will be on the global superstar, who confirmed earlier this month she was “evolving” away. about tennis.
The US Open is expected to be the final tournament for the 23-time Grand Slam champion, and although fairy tales are synonymous with New York, Murray says this year’s tournament should revolve around celebrating Williams’ extraordinary career.
“She and Zahra have had a tremendous impact on sports. They’ve had Academy Award-winning films about their careers,” Murray said, referring to Will Smith’s win as Best Actor for his portrayal of their father Richard in King Richard.
“Serena is much bigger than tennis. She is a world class sports star who fits pretty much everywhere she goes and I think she will be the greatest player ever.
“She’s been playing hardly for the last few years so the expectations for her career have to be very low but the celebrations for her career have to be really high. Maybe you want this week to be everything she’s achieved, after
A really cool farewell and it’s a celebration instead of really upset because that’s the end.”
outperform its competitors
Serena Williams looks set to finish her career at 23 major tournaments, short of Margaret Court’s all-time record.
Williams has a winning record against all 22 players she’s faced 10 or more times – a list of individuals that spanned over 15 years from oldest to youngest and held 43 Grand Slam titles.
Serena has played the most matches against her older sister Venus, winning 19 out of 31 matches including seven out of nine Grand Slam finals.
Her next most common opponents are Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, with whom she has faced 23 and 22 times, respectively.
Williams has beaten Sharapova more times than anyone else and holds a 20-2 loss record.
She lost two of her first three matches against Sharapova – including the 2004 Wimbledon final when the Russian was 17 – but won the next 19 encounters, losing only three sets along the way.
Seeing multiple generations
Williams played 1,011 matches on the WTA Tour, facing opponents born every year from 1966 to 2003.
Due to her longevity – she turned 41 at the end of September – Williams has played two-thirds (66 per cent) of her matches against younger players.
Williams has an 87 percent win rate against younger players compared to 80 percent against those born before her.
She enjoyed her most successful period after turning 30, winning 10 majors in less than five years between the 2012 Wimbledon and the 2017 Australian Open.
One short of the court
Williams has completed only four games so far in 2022 and is ranked 413th in the world
Barring a miracle victory at the US Open, Williams is destined to finish her career at 23 Grand Slams, short of Margaret Court’s record (24).
She hasn’t been able to add to her tally since winning the Australian Open in 2017 when she was eight weeks pregnant.
Williams missed the next four majors to give birth to her daughter Olympia, before returning to tennis in 2018. She went on to reach four Grand Slam finals in 2018 and 2019 but lost in straight sets on every occasion.
Injuries have hampered Williams over the past two years – she’s only completed four games so far in 2022, after playing 17 in 2021.
As a result, I hardly encounter players in their teens or early twenties.
All of the world’s top five are currently 27 or younger, with four of them – Ija Swiatek, Annette Kontaveit, Paula Badusa and Ons Jabeur – never having played Williams in singles.
Cheng Murray’s problems remain a mystery after tests returned clear ahead of his opening round encounter against Argentina’s 24th seed Francesco Cerondolo.
The Scotsman underwent sweat tests in an attempt to get to the bottom of the problem, but that did not reveal any issues as he prepared for the match, which will take place for the first time at Louis Armstrong Stadium on Monday – Join our game-by-game blog from 4pm for live updates.
Watch out for young British superstar Jack Draper as he takes on 20-year-old Emil Rossovoori of Finland
talented british guy Jack Draper Emile Rossovouri faces, while Kyle Edmund He returns to the Grand Slam after nearly two years with a knee injury that required three surgeries.
Edmund, seeded 666 but entered this year’s Grand Slam final using a protected classification, went up against fifth seed Casper Ruud who reached the French Open final in a tough encounter.
Harriet Dart She also faces a tough question as she faces Granby winner Daria Kasatkina.
World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev plays Arthur Ashe against Stefan Kozlov along with Maria Sakkari, Ons Jaber and Simona Halep.
Nick Kyrgios and Thanasi Kokinakis “Special Ks” meet each other in a late and late encounter.
What else are you looking for?
Training comes to Grand Slam
For the first time in a major tournament, in-match training will be allowed. Coaches must sit in designated court seats and can only communicate with players while they are at the same end of the ring.
New tie-breaking format
The US Open joined the other three major tournaments in agreeing to adopt a standardized first to 10-point system instead of the traditional seven in the final set of matches.
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