Saturday 29 August 2015 12:56, UK
Serena Williams is gunning for glory on home soil at the US Open but who is likely to challenge her?
The six-time defending Flushing Meadows champion will be the one to beat in New York but who are the crop of fearless prospects aiming to stop her?
To say she has a stranglehold over her home Grand Slam would be an understatement because the peerless Williams has won the past three US Opens.
Her unparalleled brilliance and longevity in the women's game mean Williams even holds an accolade named in her honour - she captured the 'Serena Slam' by winning Wimbledon to become simultaneous champion of all four Grand Slams earlier this summer for the second time in her career.
Winning a fourth consecutive US Open, and a seventh overall, would complete her first calendar Grand Slam. She captured the top prize at this year's Australian Open and French Open before her triumph at Wimbledon in July.
Williams is poised to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1988 to hold all four Slam titles within the same year, and can do so on home turf - the venue of her first major title in 1999.
The Dane finds herself in the uniquely awkward position of trying to halt her personal friend Williams' race towards greatness.
Ranked as the world No 1 five years ago when she was just 20, Wozniacki's progress has somewhat stalled and she is currently ranked fourth. It is sometimes perceived that her friendliness towards Williams impairs her competitive streak and Wozniacki will have to confront that accusation on the blue courts of New York.
"You're an unbelievable friend and definitely owed drinks later," Wozniacki gushed after Williams powered past her in last year's US Open final. But the reality is that, approaching the prime years of her career, Wozniacki hasn't won a Grand Slam and may need to put sentiment aside if she is to get over that hump.
The teen prodigy from Switzerland, a nation that has produced two top men's players in Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, is one of the most exciting female talents in the sport.
Aged 18, her recent Rogers Cup success becomes even more impressive the more it is analysed. Such a significant title at her young age is testament enough, but Bencic eliminated Eugenie Bouchard, former world No 1 Caroline Wozniacki, one-time Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki, another ex-world No 1 Ana Ivanovic, the mighty Serena Williams and finally world No 3 Simona Halep.
Bencic, the world No 12, may now be the trickiest prospect for Williams to tackle. She possesses all the momentum to make herself the latest teen great at the US Open.
A thrilling Wimbledon campaign where the unheralded Muguruza defied her No 20 seeding to reach the All England Club final means she will be blighted by expectation this time around.
Aged just 21 and hailing from Venezuela, although she represents adopted nation Spain, Muguruza injected fresh competition at the elite end of the women's game with her surprise Wimbledon run even if she was unceremoniously halted at the final hurdle by Serena Williams.
She stood out in London largely due to the ferocious power so the question marks now surround her ability to replicate that on New York's hard courts. In an ever-changing list of female contenders, Muguruza's US Open campaign will be about determining whether Wimbledon was a one-off or whether she is here to stay.
One of the brightest young talents in the game, Keys has earned praise from all corners of the game this year. Serena Williams said she can be "the best in the world" after beating her in Australia while coach Brad Gilbert said he believes the 20-year-old will "become No 1 in the world in the next 24 to 36 months and win Grand Slams".
There is no doubt, though, that she has potential and has the game to pose problems on grass. She possesses powerful ground strokes, one of the fastest serves on the WTA Tour and showed mental toughness when she fended off nine match points in defeat to Serena earlier this year.
The American No 2, and world No 19, will have the backing of the home crowd and will be hoping, unlike last year, that it will aid her beyond the second round of the US Open.
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