In case by some miracle you have have managed to miss it, Serena Williams might be about to create history. Her Wimbledon crown saw her pocket her second so-called ‘Serena Slam’ but now her attention is fully focused on becoming just the fourth female player to complete the calendar Grand Slam.
The younger Williams sister is just six victories away from her 22nd Grand Slam title which will put her level with Steffi Graf and just two behind Margaret Court who has won the most Grand Slam titles of all time.
A number of shocks on the opening day of the 2015 US Open have potentially assisted Serena in her quest as not a single top ten player remains in her half of the draw. Ana Ivanovic, the #7 seed, tumbled out to Dominika Cibulkova as Carla Suarez-Navarro, #10, and Karolina Pliskova #8, joined her with straight set losses to Denisa Allertova and Anna Tatishvili respectively.
So who is left in her side of the draw that could potentially end her calendar Grand Slam dreams?
Coco Vandeweghe
A potential third round opponent, Coco Vandeweghe is currently sat at #45 and has had a stellar year, reaching her first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon.
Her game is based around a big serve and powerful groundstrokes so may not match up too well against Serena who is the best in the world at that style of tennis. However, a comfortable first round victory over Sloane Stephens emphasizes how dangerous Vandeweghe can be.
At just 23 she is still improving and if she can catch Serena on an off-day there is no reason why she cannot cause the #1 some problems.
Dominika Cibulkova
The Slovakian has proven hard-court pedigree after reaching the final of the Australian Open in 2014 and backing it up with a quarter-final appearance this year.
As with Coco Vandeweghe, she has had little success against Serena Williams in the past, only ever taking one set off of her in Miami back in 2013. As well as that, her 2015 season has been disrupted by Achilles surgery which kept her out of action until the grass court season.
However, her first round victory over Ana Ivanovic suggests that a return to the form that got the Slovakian to #10 is not too far away and she may prove to be a test for Serena if they were to meet in the semi-final.
Madison Keys
The young American is currently experiencing a breakthrough year after her run to the semi-finals on the hard courts of the Australian Open where she eventually lost to Serena Williams in their only meeting to date.
Keys is an unpolished diamond with undoubted talent in her powerful but occasional error-strewn game. Under the watchful eye of Lindsey Davenport she has progressed inside the top #20 and is currently sat at #19.
Her form of late has been mixed with no notable deep tournament runs since the quarterfinals of Wimbledon but the same can be said for her form pre-Australian Open and that ended with a strong hard-court run. As with Vandeweghe, her style of play does not necessarily match-up well against Serena but they have little history and Keys could well make use of any nerves Serena might be feeling.
Venus Williams
Few people will know her game better than older sister Venus Williams. The pair have met four times at the US Open, winning two apiece, although their last meeting was seven years ago back in 2008.
Although Serena has won seven out of their last ten meetings, Venus has won two out of the last three on hard courts, most recently at last year’s Canadian Masters.
Venus’ form has been shaky in the US Open series leading up to Flushing Meadows but, as clichéd as it may sound, the form book goes out of the window when it comes to a sibling rivalry and ultimately, should they meet in the quarter-final, anything could happen. It would be cruel if Venus were to snatch the calendar Grand Slam from her sister but would hardly be unthinkable.
Belinda Bencic
Serena Williams is unlikely to fear anyone on the tour but she will certainly be wary of the Swiss teenager who is one of only two players to beat her on tour this year – Petra Kvitova being the other.
Bencic stunned the tennis world in Canada by defeating Eugenie Bouchard, Caroline Wozniacki, Sabine Lisicki, Ana Ivanovic, Serena Williams, and Simona Halep en route to the Masters title three weeks ago. However, it was her three-set defeat of Serena which grabbed most of the headlines.
Aside from the World #1, Bencic probably comes into the US Open in the next-best form and, at just 18 years old, would be completely fearless were she to meet the reigning champion in the quarter-finals. Bencic is certainly the player who appears most likely to end the hopes and dreams of Serena Williams, and most of the tennis world.
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