1ST Quarter:

The world’s “number one”:

Normally, any world number one would be a legitimate contender for any tournament she enters but in this case, Safina, has spent more time defending the legitimacy of her ranking this summer rather than posting results to silence her critics. The game is there but it appears that the whole ranking deliberation has gotten into her psyche. She has a decent path into the semis, where it’s a pretty safe bet that she’ll play an “eva” or an “ova”. Her fate: will make a ho-hum appearance in the semis.

Struggling Serbs: Ivanovic and Jankovic

Let’s start with Ivanovic: Has any one located the Ivanovic’s serve circa 2008? Who is this doppelganger masquerading around the WTA? 2009 marked a major fall from grace for the former number one. Don’t be surprised if Bondarenko gets her in the 1st round. Her fate: out by the 4th round, maybe sooner.

Jankovic: She’s put together a ho-hum year thus far. Destined to fall victim of the “glass ceiling”- she has the game to beat anyone ranked below her but just doesn’t have the firepower to trade blows with anyone ranked above her. Her fate: will make an appearance in the quarters.

Spoilers:

Tricky lefty Schnyder is no fun to play, especially on an “off” day. Sabine Lisicki, after her heroics at Wimbledon, definitely has the game to hang around for at least a few rounds.

2nd Quarter:

The current best player yet to win a slam:

Dementieva comes riding a huge wave of momentum. Fresh off bagging a tier 1 title in Toronto, where she extracted some revenge on Serena and outlasted a tired Sharapova, Dementieva is defiantly the form player entering the Open. Unfortunately for her, the draw gods sure know how to jest by slotting Sharapova as her potential 3rd round encounter. Her Fate: She’s long over due and the fork has been prodding away anxiously for years. She was dealt the worst draw but says here, that she successfully navigates the mind field only to fall victim to some girl named Serena in the last 100 yards. How cruel the hand of fate is.

Recovering Warrior:

The shoulder has healed but it has also significantly affected the core of her game: the serve. Tied with Dementieva for the “worst possible draw” award but should get through to her 3rd round tussel with Dementieva. Get ready for a late night screaming matching on Ashe everyone. Her fate: 3 set loss on Ashe at night in front of a high energy NY crowd BYOEP (Bring Your Own Ear Plugs) because I don’t think they sell them at the gift shop.

The Enigma:

The Enigma on the WTA use to be Mauresmo, but that honor now belongs to her sometimes doubles partner, Kuznetsova. She’s as good as she wants to be in any given match so it’s a toss up on how far she wants to go with her uncanny ability to blow hot and cold during a match. Has relatively calm path to the quarters with only real threat in 9th seed, Wozniacki. Her Fate: should get to the quarters, with a few hiccups and detours along the way.

Spoilers:

Don’t be surprised if Wozniacki plays spoiler and makes it out to the quarterfinals by taking out Kuznetsova. Petrova, has the game to player spoiler but also a permanent resident of “Headcase-ville”.

3rd Quarter:

This quarter is pretty much up for grabs. We have a mix bag of players in here and it will be a toss up and the surprise quarterfinalist will most likely emerge from here.

Big Sis:

Does anyone remember exactly when Venus’ forgot how to play on hard courts? Post Wimbledon, Venus’ game has been MIA. Now before you shout “when has regular season results ever mattered to anyone named Williams?” may I bring up an interesting fact, away from Wimbledon, Venus has posted some very dodgy results. Her Fate: a potential tussel with Clijsters is in the cards from then on, the crystal ball get’s a little foggy……

Resurgent former champion:

When the draw came out, everyone wanted to know where her name would fall. Clijsters has played extremely well since her return and she is a legitimate pick to get to the quarters. Her Fate: reminiscent of the return of Hingis made at the Aussie open a few years back; look for Clijsters to play her way into the quarters.

Spoilers:

Nice to see Dokic back!

4th Quarter:

The Alpha:

What can you say about Serena that hasn’t already been said? You’d be a fool not to pick her to reach the final given her history, especially on Ashe. And when she gets to that final, you’re not just playing against Serena; you’re playing against the aura of invincibility around her in major finals. Her Fate: another major added to the collection.

The rest:

Sam Stosur is quietly putting together a career year. She played a great match in Toronto against Kuznetsova showing off her impressive attacking play. Too bad she’s in Serena’s section. Tune into her 1st round match with Sugiyama to see remember what volleying looks like.

How many more miles are left in the tank for Mauresmo? The former number one has been relegated as the 17th seed. Showed flashes of her former self last week with a hard fought win over Kuznetsova in New Haven, catch a glimpse of her beautiful game for a few rounds.

Zvonoreva and Chakvetadze are also in this section. Both are victims of the “glass ceiling” where their solid games will allow them to beat anyone ranked below but not anyone above.

Spoilers:

None found but dying to be proven wrong.