Expect twists & turns aplenty on US hard courts

While Roger Federer is an old hand at successfully following up one major result with another, his fellow Wimbledon titleholder Garbine Muguruza discovered after last year’s grand slam breakthrough at the French Open just how challenging that scenario can potentially be.

It was only after her 12-month reign as the Roland Garros champion officially ended that the Spaniard seemed able to cast off the shackles and play with the freedom that was to deliver singles slam No.2 on the lawns of the All England Club. How will Muguruza fare at the next, the US Open? The coming weeks, when the big names return en masse for the heat of the North American hardcourt swing, will provide some clear pointers as to what lies ahead.

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These are interesting times at the pointy end of both the men’s and women’s games, with the respective No.1s from this time last year, Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic, both retreating into the competitive shade this summer for physical reasons, albeit vastly contrasting ones (both are expectant parents; only one has a serious elbow injury).

For the rest, the current state of flux means that opportunities abound – both for titles and the chance to seize the top rankings spots currently held by Karolina Pliskova (who is still to win a major, and being pursued by Simona Halep, the deposed Angie Kerber, rising No.4 Muguruza and co) and Andy Murray (whose chronic hip injury nobbled him on the grass and whose stellar six-title run in the second half of 2016 leaves him with much to defend, and a dethroning seemingly inevitable).

World No.3 Federer, the winner of the past two majors he has played, looms large – having not earned a point between the previous Wimbledon and this year’s Australian Open. Quite astonishingly, the ageless 35-year-old again has No.1 in his sights, if not at the top of his priority list, 57 months after the last of his record 302 weeks at the summit.

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Yet Murray’s closest challenger is French Open king Rafael Nadal, who had only a modest post-Rio US foray last August, among just four tournaments in the back half of 2016. (Incidentally, New York is the only slam city where Federer and Nadal have never met, despite having contested multiple finals at each of the other three.) Reigning US Open champion and current No.4 Stan Wawrinka, meanwhile, is another one struggling with injury.

While the men reconvene in Montreal, adding to the intrigue in the unpredictable scene that is the women’s version of the Rogers Cup, played simultaneously in Toronto, is the extended return of five-time major winner Maria Sharapova, after the leg injury that followed her three-tournament claycourt cameo. The Russian, who had to withdraw from Stanford this morning, is the wildcard, literally, although her prospects of a main draw invitation at Flushing Meadows are still unclear. A first WTA singles title in more than two years might be a persuasive bargaining chip, though, and another strand in what appeals as a fascinating plot-line in the busy five weeks ahead.