By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday August 25, 2022
What will likely be Serena Williams’ last US Open begins with a first-round contest against Danka Kovinic of Montenegro, the World No.80. Williams, unseeded at the Open, could then face No.2-seeded Anett Kontaveit next.
It could have been far worse for Williams. Kovinic owns a 2-4 lifetime record at the US Open, and Kontaveit has struggled in 2022. The No.2-seeded Estonian, who faces Romania's Jaqueline Cristian in the first round, is 24-13 on the season and went 1-2 in the North American hard court swing, losing to Jil Teichmann in her first match at Toronto, and Zhang Shuai in the round of 16 at Cincinnati.
Williams, meanwhile, is 1-3 on the season. She was swept out of Cincinnati by last year's US Open champion Emma Raducanu, 6-4, 6-0.
It will be interesting to see if Williams can produce better form at the Open. She has added coach Rennae Stubbs to her team and has reportedly looked good in practice, particularly movement wise.
See the full US Open women’s singles draws below (click to enlarge):
And here are the projected quarterfinals, if the seeds hold:
[1] Iga Swiatek v [8] Jessica Pegula
[4] Paula Badosa v [6] Aryna Sabalenka
[7] Simona Halep v [3] Maria Sakkari
[5] Ons Jabeur v [2] Anett Kontaveit
Notable First-Round Matchups
And, finally, a few of the many popcorn first-rounders that we’ll be seeing on the women’s side:
Serena Williams v Danka Kovinic
Naomi Osaka v [19] Danielle Collins
Bianca Andreescu v Harmony Tan
[11] Emma Raducanu v Alizé Cornet
[3] Maria Sakkari v Tatjana Maria
Venus Williams v Alison Van Uytvanck