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| This is the first meeting between Serena Williams and Elena Vesnina. Aside from Williams’ sheer power on the court, all her experience in Grand Slams and in matches under the bright lights of a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium will serve her well. Additionally, Williams has only lost in the second round of a Slam once, in her Grand Slam debut at the Australian Open in 1998, when she was 16. | | | | This is Elena Vesnina’s third US Open appearance in the main draw, and it marks the first time she has advanced to the second round of play here. Her best performance at a major came in her first Slam ever at the 2006 Australian Open, where she made the fourth round. | |
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| Williams should have an easy time against the 22-year-old Russian as long as she keeps her focus throughout the match. She easily dispatched Bondarenko in the first round because she maintained concentration and didn’t commit too many unforced errors. | | | | Facing the two-time US Open champion will be a challenge for Vesnina, but if she has a solid service game and is able to rattle Williams early with some well-placed winners, she may be able to break down Williams’ confidence. | |
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| Williams enters this year’s Open with extra drive after losing to sister Venus in the final of Wimbledon. Aside from that loss, she was beaten by Jelena Jankovic in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Australian Open and was upset by Katarina Srebotnik in the third round of Roland Garros. When Williams has played in all four Grand Slams during the course of a year, she has not left the year without a Grand Slam championship trophy since 2001. She has something to prove at this year’s Open. | | | | Vesnina had a rocky few months in the beginning of the year, seeing her ranking slip from a career-high No. 41 in 2007 to her current rank of No. 71. But she has had some success as of late, beating two top-20 players at tournaments in Miami and Amelia Island. She also has been a part of the Russian Fed Cup Team, which beat the USA in April, and she represented Russia in the 2008 Olympics. | |
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| For Williams to continue to advance through the tournament, it’s important that she keeps her early-round matches as error free as possible to keep her confidence up. If all goes well, Williams has a relatively easy draw through the fourth round until the quarterfinals, when she meets sister Venus, who has always been her toughest opponent. In the match against Vesnina, watch for Serena to make as many clean plays as possible. | | | | Vesnina should try to make Williams work hard for every point. Vesnina’s strength is her ability to execute well-placed shots. She is comfortable playing at the baseline and at net, but she must keep her serve consistent in order to stay in the game. | |
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| Though she hasn’t advanced as far as she would have liked in her past three Slams this year, Serena has been completely dominant on the circuit this year. After a quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open, Serena went on to win her next three events at Bangalore, Miami and Charleston. Her performance this season launched her back into the top-five players in the world with a No. 4 overall ranking. | | | | In her first-round match at this year’s Open against Julia Vakulenko of the Ukraine, Vesnina lost the first set but dominated the 80th-ranked player in the final two sets to take the match, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, proving Vesnina’s resolve in the face of a challenge. In that match, she only had a 55 percent first-serve percentage, and she double faulted six times. She’ll need a better service game against Williams to advance. | |
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| For Williams, playing in Arthur Ashe Stadium with a hometown crowd behind her always gives her a boost, and it can be overwhelmingly intimidating for inexperienced opponents. | | | | On the flip side, for inexperienced opponents facing popular American players at night in Arthur Ashe, the pressure can be intense. Some opponents crumble under the lights, while others take the opportunity to rise to the occasion. For Vesnina, regardless of whether she wins or loses this match, the experience will test her mettle and will help her prepare for big matches as her career progresses. |
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