US Open Tennis 2011 Bracket: Top 10 Toughest Roads at US Open

The 2011 US Open is almost upon us and we'll soon see players like Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams take to the famous courts at Flushing Meadows. 

But, who will take home the men's and women's trophies at the end of the tournament?

Well, a lot of factors are involved, but one big one has to do with the luck of the draw. Some people (cough Nadal cough) luck out when the brackets are announced, but others find themselves in tough situations.

The following slideshow will explain which 10 players, five men and five women, have the toughest draws at the US Open.

Victoria Azarenka

Even though she's the fourth-ranked player in women's tennis, Victoria Azarenka doesn't exactly have it easy. Sure, she should crush her first opponent, Johanna Larsson, and then her second one, either Rebecca Marino or Gisela Dulko. 

But then trouble comes in the form of the 28th-seeded player in this year's draw. That woman's name just happens to be Serena Williams. 

Unfair as it may seem, the US Open doles out seeds based on the world rankings and Serena slipped way down them thanks to her extended injury-caused layoff. Now Azarenka will have to pay the price in her third match of the tournament. 

Tomas Berdych

Currently ranked No. 9 in the world, Tomas Berdych will most assuredly get through his first two rounds, but then it starts to get a lot tougher. 

In all likelihood, Berdych's next three opponents should be 20th-seeded Janko Tipsarevich, seventh-seeded Gael Monfils and then none other than world No. 1 Novak Djokovic. 

That's an absolutely brutal set of matches to have to go through to even get through to the semifinals. 

Roger Federer

The toughest competition for Roger Federer will likely come outside of his eighth of the bracket. After all, the most difficult opponent he could possibly face before the quarterfinals is 15th-seeded Viktor Troika. 

But The Swiss Maestro doesn't play to make the quarterfinals; he plays to win tournaments. That means that Federer will have to win quite a few more matches to be satisfied. 

Normally, the third-ranked player in the world is rewarded with one of the easier quarterfinal matchups, but Federer is likely going to be facing the red-hot Mardy Fish, who will definitely have an upset on his mind. 

Going one step further, Federer will also run into the Nojak Djokovic buzz saw if both players make it to the semifinals. 

Ana Ivanovic

Ana Ivanovic simply can't seem to get it going and her draw at the 2011 US Open isn't going to help change that fact. 

The 16th seed is going to face an up-and-coming 20-year-old named Ksenia Pervak in the first round. While she may only be ranked 51st in the world, Pervak did play well enough to advance to the fourth round in this year's previous Grand Slam event. 

Assuming that Ivanovic isn't upset in the first round, she'll likely face 23rd-ranked Shahar Peer as Jelena Jankovic lurks in the back of her mind, waiting to face her for a spot in the fourth round. 

Even if she makes it past all of those matches, Serena Williams or Victoria Azarenka will be waiting for the right to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Mardy Fish

I'm expecting big things from Mardy Fish in this year's tournament, but two things are working against him. 

The first is that he's American. Lately, that would seem to mean that he's not allowed to win Grand Slam events, but hopefully that changes sometime in the near future. 

Secondly, Fish has a pretty brutal draw. After he dispatches of Tobias Kamke and Thiemo de Bakker in the first two rounds of the tournament, things suddenly get tough for the No. 8 seed. 

Next up will be, most likely, Michael Llodra and then after that the winner of the inevitable Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Fernando Verdasco showdown. If he makes it through that gauntlet, Roger Federer could be waiting for him in the quarterfinals. 

Sabine Lisicki

Poor Sabine Lisicki might be the unluckiest player of them all at Flushing Meadows in the upcoming weeks. 

Her first-round match is a real doozy as she'll be squaring off against Alona Bondarenko. Even though the Ukranian righty is ranked No. 114 in the world, she plays at a much higher level than that. Bondarenko has been ranked as high as No. 19 in the world and won't be just a normal first-round opponent. 

But wait, it gets worse. 

Lisicki's second-round opponent will likely be Venus Williams. Then after that she'd have to face Dominika Cibulkova and Vera Zvonareva just to make the quarterfinals. 

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No. 11 player in the world, has never made it past the fourth round in Flushing Meadows. With the draw he has, it doesn't look like he'll be beating that 2009 performance this year. 

Tsonga has a fairly easy first two matches, but then he'll have to win back-to-back matches against Fernando Verdasco and Mardy Fish to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Even if the French-born 26-year-old can take down Verdasco, he won't be able to get past a hot Fish.  

Serena Williams

The problem with the sand-bagging, unintentional as it may have been, is that Serena Williams now has to play one of the higher-ranked players way earlier than she normally would have. Usually the roles are reversed and Serena is one of the top seeds taking on a player seeded around No. 28.

But this time it's the other way around. 

After Williams blazes past Bojana Jovanovski and Eleni Daniilidou, she'll be matched up with Victoria Azarenka in what should prove to be an epic third-round match. 

In fact, it's a little bit too epic for a third-round match and that's why Serena finds herself on this list. 

Mikhail Youzhny

Mikhail Youzhny managed to draw one of the absolute toughest first-round matchups he could have imagined in Ernests Gulbis. 

I recently wrote the following about Gulbis, calling him one of the top sleepers in this year's US Open: 

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"While Ernests Gulbis doesn't have the game yet to endure the rigorous opponents and weather of the US Open, he has enough tennis skill to upset a few of the higher ranked players. 

The 22-year-old Latvian made it to the fourth round in Flushing Meadows back in 2007 but has since failed to make it past the second round. In fact, Gulbis is coming off back-to-back first-round exits at the US Open. 

So, why is he a sleeper? 

Well, Gulbis has show tremendous improvement this season and has played quite well of late. He achieved his career high in the rankings at No. 21 back in February and is currently coming in at No. 48. 

After four straight one-and-dones at tournaments, including both the French Open and Wimbledon, Gulbis has hung with the top guns in his past two events. First, at the Farmers Classic, Gulbis took home the title after victories over Juan Martin del Potro and Mardy Fish among others. In the next event he entered, the Rogers Cup, Gulbis allowed Fish to get his revenge in a three-set third-round loss. 

To be fair, the man with the winning personality did endure a first-round exit at the Western & Southern Open after a three-set match against 33rd-ranked Ivan Dodig, but he's going to be looking to bounce back in a big way at the US Open."

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Now even if Youzhny does get past Gulbis, he'll still have to face Rafael Nadal to even advance to the quarterfinals.  

Vera Zvonereva

After getting through her first two matches, of which the most notable opponent will likely be Kateryna Bondarenko, Vera Zvonareva will most likely have the pleasure of taking on quite a few tough opponents. 

First up will probably be Anabel Medina Garrigues, the No. 30 seed in the tournament, and then up next will be either Venus Williams or Dominika Cibulkova. 

If she can make it past those women, she'll face either Samantha Stosur or Marion Bartoli in all likelihood. 

Of all the women included in this slideshow, Zvonareva has the easiest road. But easy is only relative here. 

Adam Fromal is a syndicated writer and Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report. Follow him on   Twitter.