From a German perspective, the last Grand Slam tournament of the year could quickly become dismal: In the absence of the top players Angelique Kerber and Alexander Zverev, the German professionals who have already qualified are all given difficult opening tasks without exception.
The German tennis pros were mostly drawn from very difficult opening opponents at the US Open. In the first round, Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria has to deal with Maria Sakkari, third in the world rankings from Greece. Andrea Petkovic meets Olympic champion Belinda Bencic from Switzerland, Jule Niemeier plays against Sofia Kenin. The American surprisingly won the Australian Open in 2020, but was never able to build on this success again. She is currently only 265th in the world rankings. Laura Siegemund plays against Sorana Cîrstea from Romania.
Angelique Kerber is not there this year. The German number one announced on Wednesday that she is pregnant and is expecting her first child in the spring of next year. Serena Williams, on the other hand, was given a solvable task at her last appearance. The 40-year-old American plays against Danka Kovinic from Montenegro. Williams, who has won 23 Grand Slam tournaments in her career, has announced that the US Open will be the final tournament of her impressive career.
The German men also face high hurdles in Flushing Meadows. Oscar Otte, the German number one in the absence of the injured Alexander Zverev, meets the strong Pole Hubert Hurkacz. Daniel Altmaier plays against Jannik Sinner from Italy, Peter Gojowczyk against Holger Rune from Denmark. With Eva Lys, Tamara Korpatsch and Maximilian Marterer, three German professionals can still qualify for the main draw.
Defending champion Daniil Medvedev meets American Stefan Kozlov in his first round match. Novak Djokovic, who lost to Medvedev in the final last year, will not be there because he is not allowed to enter the country because he has not had a coronavirus vaccination. The US Open starts on Monday.
