U.S. Open--some interesting first rounds

The U.S. Open draw has been published, though, of course, it does not contain the names of the qualifiers and lucky losers. Both Maria Sharapova and Jelena Jankovic have very tough draws, whereas Justine Henin has a string of qualifiers (not always easy, I know).

First rounds that we know about that could be interesting:

Katarina Srebotnik v. Alicia Molik--Back in the day, before she fell victim to a really bad inner ear infection, Alicia Molik was in the top 10. She was out for a long time, tried to come back and had more problems with the infection, and finally did return to the tour, but without many good results. The hard-hitting Molik has talent, and that talent could begin to manifest itself at any time. Srebotnik is a formidable opponent who does not beat herself, so this could be an unusually spirited first round. Or not.

Julia Vakulenko v. Daniela Hantuchova--Vakulenko had an excellent year up until hard court season, when things just fell apart. She came dangerously close to taking Svetlana Kuznetsova out of Wimbledon, in a tightly contested match that went more or less unnoticed. Given her current level of success, one would imagine her falling to Hantuchova in the first round of the Open. But if Vakulenko were to get her form back, she would be a definite threat to remove the sometimes shaky Hantuchova from the year's final Grand Slam contest. An in-form Vakulenko is someone no one wants to see in a first round. This has the markings of being one of the best--if not the best--first round matches.

Kaia Kanepi v. Sania Mirza--Mirza's post-injury return to the tour has received a lot of attention, largely because of her excellent performance at this year's Bank of the West Classic in Stanford, where she reached the final. She has defeated some very good players this summer, including Patty Schnyder, Shahar Peer, Dinara Safina, Sybille Bammer, and Tatiana Golovin. Kanepi, on the other hand, is a gifted young player who has stayed beneath the radar since she entered the tour. She has had some good wins in the past, and should be considered upset material if the conditions are right.

Flavia Pennetta v. Peng Shuai--Pennetta has not found her form since she returned from a long injury layoff, and most likely will be eliminated by Peng, maybe in straight sets. I list this match, however, because one never knows when a formerly good player will find her form again.

Shahar Peer v. Meilen Tu--Peer is the runaway favorite here, but her game has been a bit weak lately, and Tu has been known to take out a top player now and then, just because she can.

Agnieszka Radwanska v. Akiko Morigami--Radwanska is one of the hottest phenoms on the tour, and Morigami is an established giant-killer (she almost took Venus Williams out of Wimbledon this year). When the two-hander gets going, she can be very tough, so Radwanska may have her hands full.