Martina Hingis returns to Flushing Meadows in this year’s edition of the US Open. Despite high profile withdrawals due to injuries by Venus Williams and Kim Clijsters, the US Open still has a strong field of players in it’s line-up as play starts on Monday, in New York.
Seeded first is Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo followed by French Open Champion Justine Henin-Hardenne as the second seed. Then comes a strong field of Russians, Maria Sharapova, Elena Dementieva, Nadia Petrova, and Svetlana Kuznetsova, seeded third, fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively. Seeded seventh is Swiss Patty Schnyder followed by compatriot Martina Hingis as the eighth seed. Czech Nicole Vaidisova is seeded ninth, and American Lindsay Davenport is seeded tenth.
Martina Hingis starts her campaign at the US Open with a first-round match against Chinese Shuai Peng on Tuesday. Should Hingis win, she’ll possibly meet Virginie Razzano in the second round, then Anabel Medina Garrigues in third round. And, should Hingis go beyond the third round, possible opponents, Dinara Safina or Flavia Pennetta await her in the fourth round . Should the seeding holds true, she might be facing Amelie Mauresmo in the quarterfinals for a chance to be in the semifinal against either Maria Sharapova or Nadia Petrova. It is interesting to note though that Mary Pierce, Ana Ivanovic and Serena Williams are all in this half of the draw, as they might pull some upsets as the tournament progresses.