Arriving in the Big Apple

Maria has arrived in the Big Apple ahead of the US Open and is sporting an elaborate splint on her left hand.

“Unfortunately I had a fall and had to have surgery to repair the injury about three weeks ago when they put a pin in it, so I have to wear this removable cast to do exercises every day for eight weeks.

“The surgeon is pleased with how it is going now and it should be okay once the pin is out. It was a bit unlucky!”

The unfortunate incident isn’t slowing Maria down much, however, and she has been using her short stay at home in Sao Paulo to catch up with her business meetings, family and friends, as well as appearing in several features for TV and the internet before flying into New York over the weekend.

She is now focusing her attention on this year’s US Open at Flushing Meadows.

The women’s draw

“Everyone is talking about Serena [Williams] going for the Grand Slam and the pressure is piling up on her.

“She has managed to win in Australia, Paris and at Wimbledon but has struggled in every tournament, dropping sets and even facing match points at times.

“This has never happened to her before and the other players in the draw are certainly noticing that she is now vulnerable and not as dominant as in the past but you still have to back her to come through.”

If Serena can prevail, she will be the first player to win a calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988, when the German added Olympic Gold too to her tally.

“Simona Halep is the number two seed and she took a set off Serena in Cincinnati and got very close to beating her and as she is in the easier half of the draw with Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka to worry about.

“Serena’s half is way tougher, although with Maria Sharapova pulling out today [Sunday] with a leg injury, it just got a little easier, psychologically.

“Serena has to handle several rivals, including, perhaps, Coco Vandeweghe, Sloane Stephens or Madison Keys, all of whom would dearly love to score a win over her in front of home crowds, and then she also has to probably face Agnieszka Radwanska and Belinda Bencic or Karolina Pliskova to get to the quarters.

“And her sister Venus is also sitting in her half, not to mention Ana Ivanovic, Makarova, Suarez Navarro, Svitolina and Jankovic, all of who can threaten her these days and one of them will surely make it through to the semi-final.”

The men’s draw

Turning to the men, Maria is delighted with the form that Roger Federer is currently showing.

“Roger delivered a master class to both Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in Cincinnati,” Maria said.

“I was so impressed that I sent him an email! He continues to work on his game and has improved his volleying so much that he can reduce the rallies down and break up his opponent’s rhythm.

“I just hope he hasn’t peaked too early for New York.”

Federer briefly lost the number two ranking to Andy Murray but regained it in time to be seeded second in New York, keeping him safely away from Djokovic until the final.

“He has Murray in his half and a couple of tricky players in his quarter, like John Isner, Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych, but should come through easily enough.

“His big test will be either Murray or Stan Wawrinka.

“As for Djokovic, he has lost twice since Wimbledon and may be feeling a little rocky, especially with Rafa [Nadal] in his quarter.

“Rafa has dropped to being seeded at 8 and although he seems to be losing a lot these days, he is still a very real threat, especially if he can boost his confidence with a few wins under his belt.

“I still think Novak will come through his quarter to probably face Kei Nishikori, who desperately wants to go a step further in the final, Marin Cilic, the current champion, or David Ferrer, although Ferrer hasn’t played a match since Queen’s because of an elbow injury.

“As for can Roger beat Djokovic, we will have to wait and see!”

Trying a new racket

Maria paid a visit to the Wilson shop at the US Open site on Sunday and was pleased to touch base with the crew there.

“They are really great and look after me well,” Maria said. “I’m going to try a new racket this week, which they have specially strung for me.

“It is an ULTRA XP 100LS, which they thought would suit me best because it is lightweight and allows players to hit more powerful and explosive shots with more spin… that should be interesting for me!”

The new racket range feature a fundamentally new, cutting-edge frame design with pearlized paint finishes that offer extreme power, while Wilson’s patented Spin Effect Technology is said to deliver maximum spin from anywhere on the court.

“I’m going to be trying Wilson’s new string too, which will be strange as I usually use natural gut.

“The string pattern seems to be a little different, wider perhaps, than my previous rackets and it is a little shorter.”

Wilson and Luxilon have collaborated to create the new Element string, an industry first as it achieves optimum power and comfort, while offering increased spin potential, making it ideal for competitive juniors and club level players.

Element features Luxilon’s patented Multi-Mono Technology, which provides greater flex normally not available in a traditional mono string, while offering resiliency to propel the ball and it is this added level of flexibility that also translates into greater power.

Element is significantly softer than traditional monofilament polyester string, placing less stress on the muscles and tendons in the forearms, helping minimise play negatively affected by tennis elbow.

“I will be interested to see how the new string plays since I have had many problems with my arm and elbow in the past,” Maria said.