US Open: A look at the unpredictable Women's draw

The women’s section of all the recent Grand Slams have thrown up surprising winners. If it was Li Na at Paris, it was Petra Kvitova in London. The absence of Kim Clijsters from the field here, will add more surprise to the end result. Kim is the double defending champion and she also won in Melbourne. She has off late been expected to sweep the hard court Slams, not surprisingly. Unfortunately she isn’t part of the mix here.

On a strong comeback trail

13 time Grand Slam winner and 3 time US Open winner Serena Williams has made a strong comeback and she has won 2 of the 4 tournaments since her comeback in June. She lost in the 4th round in Wimbledon but she is better warmed up now and can be expected to make a bullish run in front of the adoring home fans. She can be expected to scalp a high seed as early as in the 3rd round when the 4th seeded Victoria Azarenka will lock horns with Serena if the seedings hold good at the end of 2 rounds. Azarenka made the semifinal of Wimbledon but if the busty and super strong Serena finds her range, then poor Azarenka will be blown away in Week 1 itself.

Elder sister Venus Williams is unseeded and she is erratic and looks like a demon on court nowadays with her garish and horrible dressing. Hope she reduces the torture for the neutral fans though her home fans will cheer her on to a possible second week appearance.

The Open’s organizers have decided to follow the rankings while doing the seedings and hence we unfortunately have a no.1 seed who is highly incapable at the big stage. You guessed her right. Pretty, hot, busty and with lots of oomph. Yes. Caroline Wozniacki. After reaching the last 4 stage of the Aussie Open, she was blown away in the 3rd and 4th rounds at Paris and London respectively. She has been the no.1 seed all along. God knows how far she can survive. My guess is as good as yours. But one thing for sure, she won’t win this Slam.

Li Na and Petra Kvitova, the latest Grand Slam champions are seeded 6 and 5 respectively. They have the talent and the skills. But such is the unpredictable nature of the women’s field that any guess or prediction can be turned on its head. But, playing before the boisterous and colorful New York crowd and handling the expectations will prove to be a great test for these 2 champions.

Maria Sharapova is fit and fine and is seeded no.3 and she is made for New York, sort of. She has won here before and she is fresh off her Cincinnati triumph. Her game, her looks, her dressing, her legs and of course her shrieking will also be in focus. Hope Maria puts on a great show and goes one better than Wimbledon where she made the finals against Kvitova.

Among the other babes, Ana Ivanovic is erratic and too patchy in her play. Jelena Jankovic at no.11 looks worn out and a shadow of the player that made the finals of the Open in 2008.

The ruthless underdog

No.22 seed, 21 yr old Sabine Lisicki is the latest darling on the WTA Tour and has a lot of fans on FB. She boasts of a huge serve to put it mildly, has some bludgeoning ground-strokes on either flank and has won over many hearts after her semifinal run at London where she lost to Maria Sharapova. She is my favorite as well. Go Lisicki.

We have the usual suspects as well like Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadia Petrova, Marion Bartoli, Shahar Peer, Samantha Stosur etc. etc. These ladies are talented and can produce wonders if it’s their day. But putting your money on either of these women amounts to recklessness on your part.

No.2 seed Vera Zvonareva has been a silent achiever and she has been a late bloomer over the last 2 seasons with some runs to the finals of Grand Slams. But, like Murray on the men’s side, all Vera needs is a shot of self- confidence and inspiration from the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, 2 of the most self-confident players on the WTA tour.

No.7 seed Francesca Schiavone is an exemplary over-achiever and given her age and unique technique, she isn’t much of a favorite on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows.

All this leaves us with the final analysis and time for some guessing. Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova among the big names can be expected to go the distance and among the lesser known babes I wish Sabine Lisicki gives us some kick-ass action with her huge 125 mph serves, fearless forehands and endearing smiles. These courts are tailor-made for someone like Lisicki to do some serious damage to the more heralded names in the draw

EXPECTING A FAIRY TALE FROM SABINE LISICKI … OR … MARIA SHARAPOVA RETURNING TO THE WINNER ‘S PODIUM .