The final Grand Slam tournament of the year is just days away, and the entire tennis world has its eyes on Serena Williams’ epic, domineering run this 2015. Can she add even more accolades to her already prolific career with yet another win at the US Open? Not if her first round opponent in Vitalia Diatchenko has anything to say about that.
Williams’ big sister, Venus, is all set as well with her own bid to steal her sister’s thunder. She’ll take on Monica Puig when the festivities get underway this coming Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Read on as we cover the preliminary matches for the Williams sisters in greater detail. For more US open coverage, check out how the pundits weighed in on the tournament with our expert picks feature, and relive the highs from Flushing Meadows over the years with our list on the five greatest US Open moments of all time.
Let’s be honest: do we still have any doubts on Serena Williams winning the first calendar-year Grand Slam since 1988? With the way that she’s been playing all season long, Williams certainly deserves to be the clear-cut -150 favorite of winning a record-breaking seventh US Open title.
[sc:Other240banner ]Serena’s 2015 stats speak for themselves. She has an unprecedented 48-2 record this season with five titles under her belt. Three of those titles were from the other Grand Slam events of the year, another from a win in Miami in March, and the latest coming from the recently concluded tournament in Cincinnati, where she defeated World No. 3 Simona Halep in straight sets.
Can Vitalia Diatchenko play the ultimate spoiler to Serena’s title-ransacking spree this coming Monday? The 25-year old Russian just picked up her first professional career title at Surbiton earlier this June (albeit that it was an ITF event, not one from the WTA). Diatchenko was impressive in defeating Japan’s Naomi Osaka in that tournament with a straight-set victory, including a 6-0 shutout in the final frame.
However, the 86th-best female tennis player in the world needs some consistent play for her to break out as one of the tour’s top competitors. She’s 13-13 for the year, including first-round exits in three of five WTA tournaments. Diatchenko is slowly gaining her competitive form, though; she made the cut for all three Grand Slam events this season (two first round exits and a second-round run at Roland Garros). Her last US Open appearance was back in 2011, where she also lost in the opening match.
Writer’s Prediction
Serena (-5,000) dispatches Diatchenko with ease, 6-2, 6-1.
Is Venus Williams actually content with being the second fiddle to her legendary sibling? The World No. 23 sure seems like it, especially with her subpar play this season. After winning in Auckland over Caroline Wozniacki to kick-off the new season, Venus has failed to secure another title this year and has a 24-10 record to date. Even worse, she’s been ousted in the opening round in four of the last seven tournaments.
Williams has got to like her chances against her initial opponent this coming Monday, though, as she won the only meeting between Monica Puig back in 2013 in Charleston. If she can get her service game going early and often throughout this tournament (she has won 68.9 percent of first serve points this season), then she has a good chance of defeating Puig and possibly hoist her first Grand Slam title since the 2009 Wimbledon. Williams is currently priced at +6,000 to win the 2015 US Open crown.
The good thing about Puerto Rico’s Monica Puig is that she’s been very active to say the least, having participated in 21 tournaments this year. As for the bad? She failed to win any titles in the process, and she has reached the quarterfinal round or better in just three events. 12 preliminary round exits don’t help her cause either.
Still, there’s much to like about the feisty 21-year old. This US Open marks Puig’s 11th-consecutive trip to a Grand Slam tournament, and has made it as far as the second round in Flushing Meadows just this previous year. If Puig can continue to dish out smashing serves and limit her unforced errors (132 aces to 122 double faults this 2015), a win over Venus is well within reach, which would certainly boost her confidence through the roof towards a deeper run in the tournament.
Writer’s Prediction
Venus (-450) takes care of business with a solid 6-3, 6-4 finish.
