Five storylines heading into the 2020 U.S. Open

Kim Clijsters (Andrew Huse, Wikimedia Commons)

The 2020 U.S. Open begins on Monday from Flushing Meadows, New York. Here are five storylines that tennis fans should keep an eye on.

5) Tall versus short. In the first round, there will be a fascinating first round match between the 6’11” Reilly Opelka of the United States versus the 5’11” David Goffin of Belgium. Even though Opelka is one full foot taller than Goffin, the seventh-ranked Belgian beat Opelka in five sets in the first round at the 2017 Australian Open, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.  We will have to keep an eye on Opelka’s knee. He had to withdraw from the Western & Southern Open because of the ailment.

4) Novak Djokovic’s health. At the Western & Southern Open this past week in New York, world number one Novak Djokovic had to deal with a neck problem. However, he was still able to win the tournament as he beat Milos Raonic of Canada 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Still, three sets is different than five sets, and one must remember Djokovic lost to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland in the fourth round of the 2019 U.S. Open. Djokovic is undefeated so far in 2020, and will be favoured to win his 18th grand slam singles title.

3) Can Serena Williams win? The short answer is yes. However, there should be some definite questions in the Serena camp after she was beaten soundly by Maria Sakkari of Greece in the third round of the Western & Southern Open. With six of the top 10 women’s players in the world not in New York this week, this could be Williams’s best chance of tying Margaret Court’s record of 24 women’s singles major titles.

2) Victoria Azarenka enters U.S. Open with momentum. Now a mother, the two-time Australian Open champion, won the 2020 Western & Southern Open this past week. Even though she did not have to play Naomi Osaka of Japan in the final (withdrew with a hamstring injury), Azarenka still beat formidable opponents such as Donna Vekic of Croatia, France’s Caroline Garcia and Alize Cornet, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, and Great Britain’s Johanna Konta to take the title.

1) Return of Kim Clijsters. In a remarkable tennis story, the four-time major singles champion, and three-time U.S. Open champion, is returning to high-performance competitive singles tennis as a mother of three at age 37. Her first round opponent will be the 21st seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia.

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