Dhaka, Aug 25 (AP/UNB)- A glance at the U.S. Open, the year’s last Grand Slam tennis tournament:
SURFACE – Hardcourts.
SITE – USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.SCHEDULE – The 14-day tournament begins Monday. The women’s singles final is Saturday, Sept. 8; the men’s singles final is Sunday, Sept. 9. Unlike Wimbledon or the French Open, there are night sessions.
2017 MEN’S SINGLES CHAMPION
Rafael Nadal of Spain.
2017 WOMEN’S SINGLES CHAMPION
Sloane Stephens of the United States.
LAST YEAR
Nadal overwhelmed Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to win his third championship at Flushing Meadows and second Slam title of the year. Nadal began last season on a 2 1/2-year drought without making even one appearance in a major final. Stephens capped her rapid rise from a ranking of 957th in early August to Grand Slam champion by beating her close friend Madison Keys 6-3, 6-0 in the first major final for both. Stephens became only the second unseeded woman to win the tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968.
IN THE FIELD
Serena Williams returns after missing the U.S. Open a year ago; she gave birth to her daughter, Olympia, on Sept. 1, during the tournament. Also, all back in the draw after a 2017 absence are three top men: Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, who all were injured last year.
KEY STATISTIC
20 to 17 — Roger Federer’s number of Grand Slam singles titles, the most for a man, compared to second-place Nadal’s total.
KEY QUOTE
“It’s not like, ‘God, the U.S. Open never worked out for me.’ It hasn’t the last couple years, but it’s all good.” — Federer, who won five championships in a row in New York from 2004-08, but none since. That’s his longest current gap at any Grand Slam tournament.
PRIZE MONEY
The total is $53 million, with $3.8 million each to the men’s and women’s singles champions.
