US Open Women's draw preview: Can anyone prevent a Serena-Azarenka final?

During the last 10 grand slams on the women’s side, a first-time grand slam champion has emerged victorious on five occasions. Yet, this year’s US Open seems like a two-horse race between Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka.

Let’s breakdown their path to the finals in New York.

First Quarter

Serena Williams

Serena Williams is the odds-on favourite to win her fifth US Open title in New York this fortnight. But the American will have to negotiate her way through a difficult draw.

The 31-year-old American will play the first night session on Monday against veteran Francesca Schiavone. The Italian is nowhere close to her 2010 French Open winning form – but she knows how to put on a show and the crowds in New York, with a sizeable Italian immigrant population, will be rooting for her.

Serena’s potential third round opponent is the 29th seeded Magdalena Rybarikova. The Slovak went 10-3 during the US Open series events and after winning the title in Washington, she has lost only to Williams and second ranked Victoria Azarenka since, which means she could play Serena tough.

And awaiting Serena in the fourth round could be a young American 15th seeded Sloane Stephens, who knocked Serena out of the Australian Open, or 23rd seeded Jamie Hampton, whose game can help her compete with the best on her day. Stephens and Hampton are due to play in the third round and Serena will not want to lose to a younger American at the US Open.

Serena’s projected quarter-final opponent is the 8th seed Angelique Kerber, whose level has dipped in recent months. Kerber is only 6-6 since the French Open and could be marked out for an early exit.

The German has Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi in the third round and either Wimbledon semi-finalist Kirsten Flipkens, seeded no. 12, or Spaniard Carla Suarez Navarro, seeded 18th, in the fourth round.

Upset Special – Two-time champion Venus Williams to upset 12th seed Kirsten FlipkensAlso watch out for – 19-year-old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard and 20-year-old French girl Kristina Mladenovic

Predicted Quarter-final – Serena Williams vs. Eugenie Bouchard

Second Quarter

Li Na

The US Open remains the only grand slam that Ageniszka Radwanska has not reached the quarter-finals of. That’s surprising when you think that the Pole plays her best tennis on the hardcourts.

Seeded third, Radwanska finds herself in a decent section of the draw. Erratic Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who has won back-to-back matches only once in her last seven events, is Radwanska’s foreseeable third round opponent while Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, seeded 16th, or Russian left hander Ekaterina Makarova, seeded no. 24, could await in the fourth round.

Radwanska should be able to get through this section but she would face some hurdles in the quarter-finals in China’s Li Na, who is currently third-favourite to lift the trophy as per Ladbrokes.

The Chinese no. 1 is working on being more aggressive under the tutelage of coach Carlos Rodriguez and is hoping that it will help her reach first semi-final in New York.

In the third round, Li Na has Laura Robson, seeded for the first time in a slam event, in what could be a repeat of their last-32 clash in 2012 which Robson won. The -19 year-old British teen has missed the last few weeks on the circuit due to a wrist injury and will find it tough to reach the second week.

Also in this section are two players who have been in good form on the summer hardcourt stretch – former world no. 1 Jelena Jankovic, knocking on the doors of the top 10 rankings, and Romanian Sorana Cirstea, seeded 19th, who beat Jankovic, Kvitova, Wozniacki and Li Na en route to the finals in Toronto.

There are plenty of potential second-round matches to watch out for in this section – 17 year old Australian Asheligh Barty, already a two-time grand slam doubles finalist, could get Pavlyuchennkova in the second round; American Bethanie Mattek-Sands could get Makarova; 42-year-old Japanese wonder-woman Kimiko Date-Krumm could get Lisicki; and 19-year-old Puerto Rican Monica Puig or former world no. 20 Alisa Kelybanova could get Jankovic.

First round matches to watch for – (9) Jelena Jankovic vs. Madison KeysUpset Special – Virginie Razzano to upset no. 32 seed Pavlyuchenkova

Predicted Quarter-final – Radwanska vs. Li Na

Caroline Wozniacki

Third Quarter

With fourth seed Sara Errani and eighth seeded Caroline Woznaicki the top names in this quarter, this could be the section that throws up a surprise semi-finalist.

Errani is only 3-3 on hardcourts post Wimbledon and will be defending semi-final points from last year. The Italian has two-time grand slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded no. 27, as a potential third round draw and either 14th seeded Russian Maria Kirilenko or 21st seeded Simona Halep in the fourth round.

Halep is as good a dark horse as one might find in recent times. The Romanian, who has been to the third round in a slam only once before, has won 31 of her last 36 matches on tour dating back to Rome in May. During that stretch, her only losses have come to Serena Williams (twice), Li Na, Carla Suarez Navarro and Flavia Pennta (through retirement) while she has wins over Wozniacki, Kivotva, Bartoli, Stosur, Radwanska, Vinci (twice) and Jankovic.

The sunshine seems to have faded from 23-yearold Wozniacki’s game but she is still playing top 10 tennis. The Dane should be able to get past 31st seed Klara Zakaplova in the third round and either 10th seeded Roberta Vinci or 22nd seeded Elena Vesnina in the fourth round.

First round matches to watch for – (14) Maria Kirilenko vs. Yanina Wickmayer; (21) Simona Halep vs. Heather WatsonUpset Special – Tomea Babo to upset 10th seed VinciAlso watch out for – 17 yer old Croatian Donna vekic and 19 year old German Annika Beck

Predicted Quarter-final – Wozniacki vs. Halep

Victoria Azarenka

Fourth Quarter

With a 25-1 record on hardcourts this year and a win over Serena Williams in Cincinnati, Victoria Azarenka comes into the US Open as the second favourite behind the top-ranked Williams. And the Belarusian also seems to have an easier path to the finals as compared to her chief rival.

26th-seeded Alize Cornet awaits in the third round while 13th seed Ana Ivanovic or 17th seed Dominika Cibulkova, winner in Stanford, are potential fourth round opponents.

On the other side of this quarter is the former Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova, who seems to be stuck in the second tier of the game now. The Czech has always had problems with the heat and her breathing on outdoor hardcourts and has never reached the quarters in New York.

She could meet the former world no. 10 Andrea Petkovic, who is beginning to look solid and stable once again, in the second round, the dangerous Mona Barthel, seeded 28th, in the third round, and former US Open champion Samantha Stosur in the fourth round.

Upset Special – 18 year old Elina Svitolina to upset 17th seed CibulkovaAlso watch out for – Daniela Hantuchova and Alison RiskePredicted Quarter-final – Stosur vs. Azarenka

Semi-Finals – Williams vs. Radwanska; Halep vs. Azarenka Fianls – Azarenka to beat Williams