Serena Williams: 3 Reasons She Has to Be the Favorite at the U.S. Open

The 2011 U.S. Open is still a little more than a month away, yet American Serena Williams has already been pegged as the favorite to win this year's title.

Last month at Wimbledon, Williams, playing in her first major since undergoing foot surgery, was knocked out by Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli in the fourth round.

Looking for her 14th Grand Slam title, Williams has committed to numerous tournaments leading up to next month's major and is expected to be in top shape once she arrives in Flushing Meadows.

That being said, here are some of the reasons why Williams is already being considered the tournament's favorite.

1) Her Road to Recovery

After missing nearly a year because of various injuries, including a damaged tendon in her foot, a hematoma and a pulmonary embolism, Williams is finally expected to be fit for next month's U.S. Open.

A recent article said that, in addition to regaining her speed faster than initially expected, Williams did Pilates during her rehab in an attempt to shed some extra pounds in preparation for the upcoming Grand Slam event.

Look for Williams, one of the hardest-hitting women of all time, to be in top shape for the Open at the end of August.

2) Her Preparation

Serena Williams only had time for one tune-up tournament before returning to Wimbledon to defend her title.

Even so, Williams managed to last until the fourth round before being ousted by Marion Bartoli, a defeat that many experts expected because of the amount of time Williams missed over the course of the year.

Over the next few weeks, Williams has already committed to playing in tournaments in Stanford, Toronto and Cincinnati before heading to Flushing Meadows. She will have plenty of time to rediscover her swing and reach peak form before stepping onto the court at the Open.

If she can reach the fourth round at Wimbledon after playing in only one event in a year, one can only imagine what Williams is going to do in New York after having ample warm-up time before the U.S. Open.

3) Her History at the U.S. Open

Serena Williams, a 13-time Grand Slam champion, has won the U.S. Open three times, most recently in 2008.

When she is performing at her peak, there are very few (if any) who are capable of taking her down. Next month's Open will be no exception.

If you take Williams' past performances at this particular tournament and throw in a bit of home-field advantage, I suspect it will be very tough to keep her from hoisting the U.S. Open trophy once again.