Justine Henin

Last years losing finalist Justine Henin returns to New York in good form after capturing the Rogers Cup, defeating world no.3 Jelena Jankovic in the finals. Between Wimbledon and Rogers Cup, Henin had a month long break, the time she used well to recover from the shock semi-final defeat at Wimbledon to Marion Bartoli. Henin was up by a set and was on the verge of victory when Bartoli came back strongly to win the match.

The top seed has a very tough draw, she could face the Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and potentially Venus Williams in the semifinals. Her fourth round opponent could be Russian Dinara Safina or Frenchwoman Tatiana Golovin.

Maria Sharapova

She won her first title of the year at the Acura Classic, in the process defending her title. Her shoulder seems very susceptible to a recurring injury, and her withdrawal from the semifinals of East West Bank Classic against Nadia Petrova might be an indication of things that could go wrong for the Russian double slam winner.But the Russian world no.2 and defending Champion has a reason to smile. She has an easy draw and her first real test could only come in the quarterfinals where she could meet in-form compatriot Anna Chakvetadze. She is seeded to meet fourth seed Russian Svetlana Kuznetsova in the semifinals.

Jelena Jankovic

The ever-cheerful Jelena Jankovic arrives in New York still recovering from her cold and a bout of flu. She has enough matches under her belt coming into the final slam of the year, after reaching the semifinals (lost to Serbian star Ana Ivanovic 7-5 in the third set) of the East West Bank Classic and the finals of Rogers Cup.

She is seeded to play Venus Williams or Ivanovic in the quarters and Henin in the semifinals.

Svetlana Kuznetsova

The former Champion has not been able to recapture the form that helped her to win the title three years back. This year however she is expected to go deep into the draw and justify her fourth seeding. Like Sharapova she has an easy draw and is likely to face Bulgarian sensation Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round and Nadia Petrova in the quarters.

Players with the Best Outside Chance: Serena Williams and Venus Williams

The sisters are seeded to face in the semifinals of the top half of the draw. This is the third successive slam in which Serena and Henin are scheduled to meet in the quarterfinals with Henin winning both times. Serena would love to have her revenge and what better place to do it than here? Her biggest obstacle in clinching her second slam of the year and her third US Open title would be the state of her thumb. The thumb injury contributed considerably in her loss to Henin in the Wimbledon quarters.

While Serena has played no warm-up event before the US Open, Venus played in the Acura Classic and lost to Anna Chakvetadze in the quarterfinals in three-sets after having a match-point in the second. Venus is in a better physical shape than Serena and should have a better shot at the title. Overall, it should come as no surprise to anyone if either of the sisters win the title. A reasonably fit Serena could topple a below par (unlikely?) Henin in the quarters and players in Venus’ half of the draw should start praying that she should not find her form in the later stages of the tournament, which she did on the way to her fourth Wimbledon title.

Justin Henin Vs Maria Sharapova

Winner : Justin Henin