US Open: Cautious Serena taking nothing for granted

World number one wary of possible meeting with Ivanovic, Stosur.

NEW YORK:

Two-time defending champion Serena Williams could find two familiar rivals in her path as she vies for a first Grand Slam title of 2014.

Serena is projected to face Serbian eighth seed Ana Ivanovic in the quarter-finals.

Although Serena leads their career head-to-head 7-1, former world number one Ivanovic ousted the American in the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

The American could find herself up against another player who has managed to get the better of her on a major stage in the round of 16 — Australian Samantha Stosur.

Stosur, seeded 24th, stunned the American in the 2011 US Open final.

Serena, attending the draw ceremony on Thursday, said she wouldn’t be looking that far ahead in the draw.

Having failed to make it out of the fourth round at any Grand Slam this year, the 17-time major winner won’t be taking anything for granted, even against unheralded first-round opponent Taylor Townsend.

“The way my year’s been going, I’m worried about every single match,” said Serena.

Djokovic could face Murray in quarter-finals

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray were put on a quarter-final collision course for the US Open Thursday while Roger Federer’s hopes of an 18th Grand Slam title were buoyed by a kinder draw.

Djokovic opens his campaign against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.

Eighth-seeded Murray, the 2012 US Open winner who hasn’t won a title since his emotional 2013 Wimbledon triumph, opens against Robin Haase of the Netherlands and could face a dangerous fourth-round clash with French ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Federer has a lighter-looking path in the bottom half of the draw, with seventh-seeded Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov his scheduled quarter-final foe.

The resurgent Swiss arrives in New York off a hardcourt title at Cincinnati and will open his campaign against Australian Marinko Matosevic. 

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2014.

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