2013 U.S. OPEN PREVIEW An Insider’s Look at the Men’s and Women’s Draw Beginning immediately after the conclusion of Wimbledon, the U.S. Open Series links together WTA and ATP tournaments that take place on hard courts across America throughout the summer. As the summer comes to a close, fans are gearing up for the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the season, the 2013 U.S. Open. With the 2013 U.S. Open beginning Aug. 26, the big names in the tennis world will converge on New York in hopes of winning the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year. Since 1978, the tournament has been held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. and has been a highlight to the summers of New York tennis fans. This year’s championships will undoubtedly provide a high level of drama, action, and excitement as the world’s best players compete for the final Grand Slam title of the year. Some players go into the tournament looking to finish a disappointing season off on a more positive note, and some seek to build on the solid season they’ve had thus far. No matter what the player’s individual goals are for the tournament, we can fore-
cast the true contenders, pretenders and American hopefuls for this year’s U.S. Open.
Contenders: Men’s singles Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Novak Djokovic is the 2011 U.S. Open Champion, current world number one and top seed heading into this year’s tournament. Djokovic has enjoyed much success at the Open, having reached the semifinals in 2008 and 2009; the finals in 2007, 2010 and 2012; and took home the championship in 2011. Having lost to Andy Murray a year ago and in the Wimbledon Finals, Djokovic comes in highly motivated to win his seventh Grand Slam title (2008, 2011, 2012, and 2013 Australian Open; the 2011 Wimbledon Championships; and the 2011 U.S. Open).
Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Andy Murray is the defending champion at Flushing Meadows and has momentum coming into the event off his first Wimbledon Championship. At the 2012 U.S. Open, he defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets to win the title, and he became the only British male to become a Grand Slam singles champion during the Open Era. With a Gold Medal at the 2012 Olympics and a Wimbledon title both in front of his home fans in Great Britain, the pressure is off Murray and he can relax and play. Defending a title is no easy feat, but Murray may be playing well enough to do so. Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Rafael Nadal is the reigning French Open Champion and 2010 U.S. Open Champion returns to Flushing Meadows after not playing due to injury a year ago. Nadal has won 12 Grand Slam singles titles, including an all-time record eight French Open titles. In 2010, Nadal completed the Career Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open proving that while this isn’t his best surface, he is a threat on any surface. He is only the second male player to complete the Career Golden Slam (winner of the Career Grand Slam and the Olympic gold medal) after Andre Agassi. Photo credit: Kenneth B. Goldberg
Juan Martin del Potro has won the U.S. Open before and poses a serious threat this year. The 2009 Champion was 44
Long Island Tennis Magazine • September/October 2013 • LITennisMag.com