All eyes will be on Flushing Meadows in New York from Monday with the US Open set to begin. The likes of Novak Djkovic, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are set to headline the men’s singles draw, while Serena Williams will be gunning for a historic 23rd single's title on the women's side.
Among the Indians participating in the season's final grand slam are Leander Paes, Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna, who are strong title contenders in the doubles category. Saketh Myneni has also qualified for the men's singles draw. Here is a look at what to expect from the Indian contingent.
Saketh Myneni
The 28-year-old reached his first grand slam main draw after winning the US Open qualifiers last week. However, world No. 143 Myneni has a tough task ahead because his first round opponent is Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely, ranked 49th in the world. If Myneni passes the Czech test, he is likely to face world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round.
Rohan Bopanna
For Bopanna, this has been a forgetful year keeping in mind the first-round Olympic defeat with Leander Paes in the men's doubles event. Yet to bag a title this year, he will partner Frederik Nielsen of Denmark at the US Open and will face the 16th seeded pair of Serbai's Nenad Zimonjic and Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek in the opener.
Sania Mirza
The world’s No. 1 women’s doubles player has had the perfect build up before she begins her quest for the US Open. She bagged titles at the Connecticut Open and Cincinnati Masters and looks like a force to reckon with at Flushing Meadows. Mirza, along with her partner Barbora Strycova of Czech Republic, are seeded seventh in the tournament. They will face the United States pair of Ena Shibahara and Jada Myii Hart in the first round.
Leander Paes
Veteran Paes and his German partner Andre Begemann have the pedigree required to win the US Open title. The duo missed out on the bagging the Winston-Salem Open last week and will hope to put that behind them in New York. The duo begin their campaign against Dudi Sela of Israel and Stephane Robert of France. However, in all likelihood, Paes will partner Martina Hingis in the mixed doubles as they are the defending champions this year. The mixed doubles draw is yet to come out.
