US OPEN Djokovic goes for another major hat trick at US Open BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @robbpoz Considered the best male tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic will be bidding to make history again at this year’s U.S. Open. Should he win this year’s U.S. Open, the top-seeded Djovovic — who already won this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships — will pull off a tennis majors hat trick for the second time in his career. The Serbian tennis star accomplished the feat in winning the 2011 U.S. Open; he had also won that year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon titles. Since the open era began in 1969, just four other male players captured three legs of tennis’ grand slam, which is comprised of the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open. Roger Federer of Switzerland, who captured the majors hat trick three times in the last decade, is the U.S. Open’s second seed, coming off a tough lost to Djokovic in this year’s Wimbledon final. He’ll be looking for his record 18th major singles title and sixth U.S. Open trophy. No male player in the open era has swept all four legs; Djokovic was denied that opportunity in this year’s French Open, losing in the finals to Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka, the U.S. Open’s four-seed. Rounding out the top 10 on the men’s side at the U.S. Open are Andy Murray of the United Kingdom (#3, 2012 U.S. Open champion); Ken Nishikori of Japan (#5, 2014 U.S. Open finalist); Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic (#6, 2012 U.S. Open semi-finalist); David Ferrer of Spain (#7, 2013 French Open finalist); Milos Raonic of Canada (#8, a 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist); Marin Cilic of Croatia (#9, 2014 U.S. Open champion); and Rafael Nadal of Spain (#10, two-time U.S. Open champion and a 14-time majors champion). In all, the world’s top 99 male players from 40 different nations across the globe received automatic entry into the U.S. Open; another 16 players will be added through a qualifying tournament, and the USTA will award wild card berths to eight others players. Americans who received direct entry to the U.S. Open include John Isner of Greensboro, N.C. (#18), Jack Sock of Lincoln, Neb. (#31), Sam Querrey of Las Vegas (#34), Steve Johnson of Orange, Calif. (#46), Donald Young of Atlanta (#55), Tim Smyczek of Tampa (#75), Rajeev Ram of Carmel, In. (#86); and Denis Kudla of Arlington, Va. (#96). The 2015 U.S. Open will be played Monday, Aug. 31, through Sunday, Sept. 13, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The U.S. Open Men’s Singles Championship is presented by Mercedes-Benz. Serena goes for a Grand sweep in Flushing by ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @robbpoz No one knew it at the time, but Serena Williams’ triumph in last year’s U.S. Open — her third straight victory in the tournament — was the beginning of a unique grand slam sweep. Williams went on to win the Australian Open in the winter, then conquered the clay courts at the French Open in June before completing her “Serena Slam” in July by taking the Wimbledon Championships for the sixth time in her illustrious career. Now the tennis superstar has her sights on accomplishing something that only two other women have done in the open era: sweeping all four major tennis championships in the same calendar year. Steffi Graf was the last woman to complete the slam sweep in 1988; Margaret Court accomplished the feat in 1970. The undisputed top seed in this year’s U.S. Open, Serena Williams leads a field featuring 99 of the world’s top 101 female tennis players, including secondseeded Maria Sharapova of Russia, the 2006 U.S. Open champion; third-seeded Simona Halep of Romania, a 2014 French Open finalist; fourth-seeded Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, the 2014 Wimbledon Champion; and fifth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, who lost to Williams in last year’s U.S. Open final. Rounding out the top ten on the women’s side are Ana Ivanovic of Serbia (#6), a 2012 U.S. Open quarter-finalist; Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland (#7), a semi-finalist at this year’s Wimbledon; Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic (#8), this year’s French Open runner-up; Garbiñe Muguruza of Spain (#9), this year’s Wimbledon finalist; and Carla Suárez Navarro of Spain (#10), a U.S. Open quarter-finalist in 2013. Ten American women joined Serena Williams in receiving automatic entry into the U.S. Open, including her sister Venus Williams (#15), Madison Keys of Rock Island, Ill. (#18), Coco Vandeweghe of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. (#32), Sloane Stephens of Coral Springs, Fla. (#34), Madison Brengle of Dover, Del. (#39), Varvara Lepchenko of Allentown, Pa. (#45), Alison Riske of Pittsburgh (#54), Christina McHale of Englewood Cliffs, N.J. (#59), Irina Falconi of West Palm Beach, Fla. (#76), and Lauren Davis of Boca Raton, Fla. (#83). In all, the 101 players that automatically qualified for the U.S. Open represent 33 different countries; the United States had the most direct entries of any other nation. The remaining spots in the 128-player tournament will be filled through a qualifying tournament and wild card berths awarded by the USTA.
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