The Favorites To Win The US Open Women’s Title
With Li Na dropping out of the US Open due to a knee injury, a major contender has bowed out of the running for the coveted trophy. As a result the list of favorites for the title has come down to three in my opinion. The clear favorite to win this year’s trophy is once again the number one seed, Serena Williams. Her most serious competitors in the tournament have to be the number five seed Maria Sharapova and the number two seed Simona Halep.
The world number one, Serena Williams has had a horrid 2014 so far, compared to her standards. The defending champion has failed to make it to the quarter finals of any of the Grand Slams, spectacularly crashing out to lesser opponents in the earlier rounds of the tournaments.
However, she seems to have a very favorable draw for the US Open and should easily breeze past the first rounds. The five time former champion will face a potentially tricky fourth round encounter against the number 22 seed, Samanth Stosur, but then again, after the fourth round, all matches will be potentially tricky.
There has not been a more dominant force in women’s tennis in recent years, than Serena Williams. If Williams is focused and physically fit for the tournament, then it will be very difficult for someone to deprive her of a chance for a sixth US Open title.
However, one of the most likely contenders to upset Miss Williams will be the number two seed Simona Halep. Even though Halep was largely unknown a year ago, the Romanian has risen through the rankings by virtue of her quarter final appearance in the Australian Open, her final appearance at Roland Garros and her semi final appearance at Wimbledon.
The 22 year old may very well win her first Grand Slam this year provided she can overcome a potential quarter final clash against Maria Sharapova.
This brings us to our last favorite to win the title: Maria Sharapova. The number five seed knows what it takes to win the US Open crown, having won the tournament in 2006. Sharapova has had her ups and downs this year so far and crashed out of the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the fourth round. However, the former world number one did win her second French Open title.
A fourth round elimination in the Australian Open was followed by a French Open victory. Could a fourth round Wimbledon exit be followed by a US Open victory? Not the best comparison, I know, but we do know that Sharapova has the ability to defeat any player on her day.
Eventually these players will come head to head during the course of the tournament, if they remain on course for the final. What happens then is anybody’s guess, but in the humble opinion of this writer, a fully fit and focused Serena Williams will surely be unstoppable. But whether that actually happens, remains to be seen.
