US Open Tennis 2011: 10 Sizzling Storylines To Watch in Queens

The 130th edition of the US Open will start Monday as scheduled. There is plenty of expectation for Tennis' final Slam of the year.

Everyone is trying the difficult task of predicting who will win the US Open this year. It's difficult—even on the men's side of the draw.

While there is not a clear-cut favorite on the women's side, everyone will be watching Serena Williams, who just seems to be rounding back on top form, and when she is, you have to count on her to win the tournament.

Rafael Nadal and Kim Clijsters won the tournament last year. But only Rafa is back to defend his title this year, since Clijsters—the three-time (and two-time defending) champion—withdrew because of a strained abdominal muscle.

But there is still plenty of star power and many interesting stories that can be talked about in this year's tournament. Let's review some of them.

- Carlos Torres

The Weather

Hurricane Irene was an unwelcome visitor to the East Coast and stormed through New York on Saturday night.

Fortunately, the Billie Jean King did not suffer damages strong enough to halt the start of the US Open on Monday morning.

Still, there are many areas in the Tri-State area suffering from flooding and power outages. It is definitely likely to affect the logistics of some of the visitors being able to make it out to the facility.

Also to be noted is fact that in the past three years weather has delayed the finals match to the following Monday—there are hopes that will not be the case this year.

The State of American Tennis

American Tennis is suffering from a drought of players capable of reaching the top of the rankings. Gone are the days where we could look forward to the Slams and expect an American player to contend for the title.

On the men's side, Andy Roddick and James Blake were the contenders, with Roddick actually being the last American to win the Open and reach the No. 1 world ranking.

Late bloomer Mardy Fish is now the top American player, at 29 years old. Hard-serving John Isner, 26 years old, and 23-year-old Sam Querrey and Ryan Sweeting are the next highest-ranked American players.

On the women's side, the Williams sisters used to be a fixture atop women's tennis. Venus is 31 years old and Serena 29. They have been battling injuries and don't have much left.

Next up is Bethanie Mattek-Sands, who is ranked No. 35, but is already 26 years old. The up-and-comers include Christina McHale (19 years old and ranked No. 66) and Irina Falconi (21 years old and ranked No. 78).

None of those second-tier players look like they will contend at the top any time soon. Hopefully they will show us something different at this year's Open.

The Injury List

Injuries are always a major concern with regards to any athlete's performance. At the US Open we have our share of important injuries that could play a role as to which players go deep through the draw or not.

Two-time defending champ Kim Clijsters had to withdraw because of an abdominal strain. The most notable recent injury is the sore right shoulder that Novak Djokovic suffered at the recent Cincinnati Open.

Two other big names are also nursing injuries. Rafael Nadal is not yet fully recovered from his foot injury suffered at Wimbledon, while Serena Williams withdrew from the Cincinnati Open due to a sore toe.

The other notables on the injury list for the US Open are as follows:

Men's Draw: Mardy Fish (sore heel), Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (right arm), Tomas Berdych (right shoulder), Ivan Dodig (knee) and Tommy Haas (hip).

Women's Draw: Victoria Azarenka (right hand strain), Daniela Hantuchova (left foot), Shuai Peng (left hip).

The Dark Horses

One thing you always look for in the tournament draw is those players who are flying under the radar and can pull the big upset over the favorite players.

There are a bunch of players who could upset the higher seeds and make a good run through the draw—starting with 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro. Del Potro has all the tools to win this this tournament. The big question is if he can go back to the form he showed during the summer of 2009.

I would not call Serena Williams a dark horse because she has shown she is almost back to her top shape—which is being the best in the world—and should go deep in the tournament.

Other dark horses on the men's side are Mardy Fish, John Isner, Xavier Malisse and Mikhail Youzhny.

The women's side includes Agnieszka Radwanska, Jelena Jankovic, Sabine Lisicki, Andrea Petkovic and Sam Stosur.

Will Maria Sharapova Win Her 2nd US Open Title?

Maria Sharapova knows what it takes to win a US Open. She won here in 2006, but due to shoulder injuries over the next two years she fell off the top rankings.

Sharapova didn't seem to regain that championship form until a few months ago, when she won the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, then reached the semis at the French Open and the finals at Wimbledon.

She has been steadily improving and if you follow her path in the past two Slams, semis and finals losses, she seems due for a win.

Of course, that is just playing with the mind, but she has worked really hard to be back in contention. She is coming off a win at the Cincinnati Open, which should serve her well as a prep for the US Open.

Sharapova could be in for her second US Open Championship title.

The Seeding That Was Heard Around the World

The fact that Serena Williams was seeded 28th in this tournament is beyond me.

I understand the tournament seeding policies; the committee that establishes the seeds for the US Open had the option of giving Williams any seeding it wanted.

Because of her lengthy absence from tennis, she is ranked 29th in the world. But everyone knows Serena's resume—add to that the fact that she comes from storming through the US Open Series and winning it.

By virtue of this win, Serena is now ultra-motivated to win the US Open. She is in line for a $1 million dollar bonus, which she could cash-in if she wins here.

With Serena back to form and being the 28th seed, the fourth-seed Victoria Azarenka, Ana Ivanovic and seventh-seed Francesca Schiavone are not happy campers. 

Those three could be Serena's opponents since they are all in Serena's quarter of the draw.

Will This Be Caroline Wozniacki's 1st Slam?

Caroline Wozniacki still has that chip on her shoulder. She is the top-ranked player in the world, but has never won a Grand Slam.

The other question mark is that even when she was fresh off her fourth-consecutive New Haven title, she was bounced from the two tournaments prior to New Haven.

She is poised to finally break through and win the US Open, claiming her first Grand Slam title, but she will need to show more of the consistency worthy of the world’s top player.

It's unfortunate, but she won't silence her critics until she wins a "big one." It will be worth watching her efforts, since she has a pretty open draw to reach the finals and win it.

Will Rafael Nadal Make It Back-to-Back Titles?

Rafael Nadal is looking to successfully defend his US Open title. He won it for the first time last year. 

He suffered a foot injury at Wimbledon and has not fully recovered from it. He had early exits at Montreal and Cincinnati—meaning he has not been able to establish a rhythm prior to the US Open.

Nadal has the easiest part of the draw of both male and female players. That should bode well for him, with an easy path to gain confidence and prepare for the big games.

He will need those matches if he is to contend. Otherwise, as improbable as it sounds, one of the players in Nadal's quarter could beat him in a best-of-three-sets match; you could even argue that Ivan Dodig was not supposed to beat him in Montreal.

Whatever happens, Nadal is always a top attention drawer and will have plenty of people watching his every move and how he fares on the courts.

Can Federer Win One More Slam?

Roger Federer is the undisputed King of Grand Slams in tennis. He has won 16 majors, including five US Opens in a row (from 2004 through 2008).

Federer has garnered attention as usual, but most questions surround his actual ability to win another major.

He continues to play great tennis. While hardly the dominant Roger we remember, he has still been good enough to be third best.

His advantage on the rankings at third place over Andy Murray has shrunk to less than 2,000 points, which should provide added incentive to go out and win the US Open again. 

He has said that he is still as hungry to win as he enters this US Open. It's quite possible that Federer won’t win another Grand Slam title. But at the very least, it will be worth watching him try.

Can Novak Win 3-out-of-4 Slams This Year?

Novak Djokovic is having one of the greatest seasons ever. He is 57-2 during the year, while capturing nine titles, including Masters 1,000 Series titles.

He could put his name in the books by winning the US Open this year. If he does, he will become just the 12th man to win three tennis majors in one year. The two most recent players to do it were Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.

Federer and Nadal are in the draw this year, with Federer as his possible first semifinals opponent. Djokovic has beaten Nadal five times this year and against Federer he is 3-1 this year.

His shoulder injury is something to watch for, but everyone is looking forward to seeing a Djokovic-Federer semifinal and Djokovic-Nadal match.

That could be the highlight of the Men's tournament.

At the US Open, Novak has fared well, but he hasn’t been able to break the barrier and win the title. Reaching the finals and losing in 2010 and 2007, Djokovic looks to come to New York this year and take the crown.

The top seed will need to be in top form—like he has been all year—to get past champions Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. I’ll be keeping an eye on Novak’s play and look for him to dominate the field.