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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
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