By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday August 29, 2021
The final Grand Slam of the 2021 season is here!
The bottom half of the men’s and women’s singles draws will take to the courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on Monday to kick off the 141st staging of the US Open, and we're here to preview the action.
Here’s what’s on tap:
A rematch of the 2017 women's singles final on Day 1
Madison Keys and Sloane Stephens are best of friends, but once again they’ll be forced to don their rivals caps when they meet in first-round action on Day 1 (first up on Arthur Ashe Stadium). Stephens, who dominated Keys in the 2017 final, owns a 4-2 record over her compatriot and the pair have split their last two meetings, with Keys taking the last in three sets at Rome (also round one).
Making matters more enticing is the fact that the Keys-Stephens winner could face Coco Gauff in the second round – and it is the 17-year-old Gauff who is the seeded player of the three!
Gauff, seeded 21, plays Poland’s Magda Linette in the fourth match on Louis Armstrong Stadium on Monday.
Tsitsipas v Murray – a first-time meeting
It’s crazy that Andy Murray hasn’t been ranked inside the Top-100 since the first two weeks of May – in 2018! But the Scot, now 34 and having been through back surgery in 2013 and two right hip surgeries in 2018 and 2019, is a pillar of integrity in the sport. The former World No.1 and three-time major singles champion wants to end things on his terms and he believes he can do that.
A couple of wins at the US Open might be enough to get Murray back in the Top-100 but he’ll have a difficult time doing so, as he’s set to face No.3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one. Tsitsipas owns a meagre 3-3 record lifetime at the US Open (not great when stacked up against his 15-5 at Roland Garros or 10-4 at the Australian Open), but The Greek is still just 23 years old and on the cusp of coming into his own as a leader in the men’s game. He’ll enter as the heavy favorite on Monday, but Murray, the 2012 US Open champion, knows a thing or two about revving up the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Ivo’s Last Hurrah?
42-year-old Ivo Karlovic will bat second on Grandstand, and he’ll need to swing for the fences if he is to earn a win in what could be his final Grand Slam appearance. Karlovic takes on No.5-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia.
Rublev comes off a final appearance at Cincinnati – his second Masters 1000 final of the season – while Karlovic, ranked 223, just completed a qualifying run.
Stars in Action
It's a new look US Open in 2021 with no Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams or Venus Williams. But tennis fans don't need to fret too much, there's still plenty of high caliber talent to get excited about. Here's a few names to watch on Monday:
No.2 seeded Naomi Osaka will begin her title defense as she kicks off the night session by facing Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic… 2019 finalist and 2020 semifinalist Daniil Medvedev battles Richard Gasquet in the Ashe nightcap…. John Isner and Brandon Nakashima will reprise their rivalry, second up on Armstrong. Nakashima defeated Isner in the Los Cabos semifinals then lost to him in the Atlanta final during this year’s US Open Series… First up on Grandstand is Simona Halep. The No.12-seeded Romanian has a tough test in Italy’s Camila Giorgi, the Montreal champion.
Collins v Carla
Will this be the end of the road for Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro? The Spaniard faces No.26-seeded Danielle Collins in what could be the last match of her career. Suarez Navarro, a two-time US Open quarterfinalist, has lost in the first round at Roland Garros (Stephens in 3) and Wimbledon (Barty in 3). Collins has been red-hot this summer, winning her first two career titles and racking up 12 straight victories at one point, but she’ll have her hands full with Suarez Navarro, a former World No.6 with 86 Grand Slam main draw victories to her name.