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By Erik Gudris | Tuesday, July 28, 2015

 
Serena Williams

Serena Williams is the main focus this summer. But there's plenty of other intriguing stories to keep track of before the US Open.

Photo Credit: AP


The tennis season heats up once again with the summer hard court events throughout North America. Here's the players and plot lines to keep an eye on before the final major of the year in New York.

ATP: Nadal Wins in Three Against Verdasco in Hamburg

Serena's Long, Hot American Summer?

Serena Williams now holds a record and second "Serena Slam". Yet now she goes after the elusive calendar Grand Slam at next month's US Open. How much match play she gets in before then though is not exactly clear.

Williams is currently resting due to an elbow injury that caused her to withdraw from Bastad and pull out of an appearance at World Team Tennis. It's the same injury that forced her to withdraw from Rome during the clay court swing, but it didn't stop her from taking both the French Open and Wimbledon titles. Right now, Williams has a full schedule of events lined up in Stanford, Toronto and Cincinnati.

Since Williams proved that in Europe she could win both Grand Slams there with an abbreviated lead-up, the argument remains she could probably get away with it again. Considering that she will want to enter New York fully healthy, don't be surprised if the World No. 1 ends up playing a less then packed schedule over the next few weeks.

Local Hopefuls: Isner and Sock

U.S. No. 1 John Isner gets extra scrutiny from American fans every time the switch is made to summer hard courts. Isner often plays his best at home, yet has been unable to turn that into a deep run at the US Open. Currently ranked No. 19, Isner certainly could use his big serve to perhaps threaten the tour's elite during the US Open Series. The fact that Isner, as of now, has not entered his hometown event in Winston-Salem a week before New York is further proof he wants to save his best for the final major.

Yet many are pointing to rising Jack Sock as perhaps the next man to become this country's top pro. Sock won his first ever ATP Title in Houston earlier this year and is knocking on the door of being possibly seeded in New York. Is this summer when Sock finally announces himself in a big way that adds more justification to his recent results? Any meeting this summer between the two would be a must-watch, including a possible semifinal meeting later this week in Atlanta.

Nadal: Rising Above or Treading Water?

Another early exit for Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon raised more speculation about where the former No. 1 is headed. While the 29-year-old Nadal continues searching for answers, including playing this week on the clay in Hamburg, he now finds himself heading into in what has been perhaps his least favorite part of the season. Not that that has stopped Nadal from winning two US Opens, but could hard courts be where Nadal finally shows signs of his old self again?

Perhaps. Unlike the European clay court swing leading into the French Open where Nadal faced all kinds of pressure and expectation, he doesn't have to deal with any of that right now. Especially since he is not defending any points either due to his absence last year from the North American events due to a wrist injury. If he can ignore all of the endless chatter about what he should or shouldn't be doing now, it might free him up to achieve some big results. Nadal will definitely want strong showings in both ATP 1000 events to solidify a top eight seeding for New York. Could this be when Nadal finally turns things around? And if he doesn't, then what?

WTA: Summer of Opportunity

While Serena Williams is the overwhelming headline on the women's tour, plenty of players have a big chance to make up ground rankings wise if they can bounce back from recent disappointments.

Canada's Eugenie Bouchard has been in a free fall this year with multiple early round losses. Now ranked outside the top 25, will she be inspired when she returns to Toronto for the Rogers Cup? Simona Halep, who also lost early in Paris and Wimbledon, will also be looking to put the recent past behind her. Same could be said for Petra Kvitova who must still be thinking about that surprise loss to Jelena Jankovic at Wimbledon.

Yet it could well be Victoria Azarenka who has the most potential to enjoy a really fruitful summer. She has pushed Williams to the limit several times this year and has finally returned to the top 20. A title run at one of the lead up events to New York would not be out of the question.

Who is This Summer's Surprise?

It seems like every summer there's one player who finds inspiration throughout the US Open Series. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga blazed like a brilliant comet through the Toronto draw before winning the whole thing. And then Marin Cilic who made it known he was ready to perhaps challenge for the US Open last summer when he narrowly lost to Roger Federer in Toronto. Cilic, who served like we've never seen him before in the span of three days, turned the tables on Federer in New York a few weeks later en route to winning his first ever major title.

While we expect the likes of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka to make their names known, it's always fun to watch someone from the top 20, or even ranked lower, find the magic they've been waiting for and produce a strong run during the buildup to a major. Maybe one of the young guns in Dominic Thiem or Borna Coric will catch fire. Or will we see someone like Grigor Dimitrov, who's been up and down all season, enjoy a turnaround in his results?

No matter who it might be, tennis always needs somebody to enjoy their breakthrough and keep fans engaged with a new plot twist as they prepare for the final chapter of this year's Grand Slam saga in New York.

 

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