NEW YORK - Serena Williams says she feels like the U.S. Open defending champion even though she missed last year's tournament because of knee surgery.
Justine Henin-Hardenne should feel like the defending champion, because she is. But Henin-Hardenne doesn't know how to feel. The Belgian, ranked No. 1 in the world, has played only eight matches in nearly five months as she regains her strength from a viral illness.
Andy Roddick arrived as a major player here a year ago when he won his first Grand Slam tournament title, a boost that briefly propelled him to a No. 1 ranking.
Roger Federer has won just about everything else, including a rousing defense of his first Wimbledon title. Federer cemented his place as the best player in the world by recovering from a first-set loss to Roddick in the Wimbledon final and winning in four sets.
The U.S. Open begins today, and there is no sense of where the favorites are or who they are.
On the women's side, will it be Henin-Hardenne, who was delighted to have won an Olympic gold medal in her first tournament since returning from her illness?
Could it be Serena, who has bopped in and out of the WTA Tour scene this year, sometimes injured, sometimes seeming a little flaky, sometimes seeming more interested in other pursuits of acting and designing, only to return and be suitably devastated by a Wimbledon final loss to a 17-year-old?
The 17-year-old was Maria Sharapova, certainly the summer "It" girl. She is young, tall, blond, tanned, beautiful and has a punishing forehand and steely nerve. She won Wimbledon last month with a drubbing of Serena in the final.
Serena, seeded No. 3, pulled out of the Olympics only hours before she was supposed to fly to Athens, Greece, complaining of an ache in the knee she hurt last year. On Saturday she said the balky knee was "a lot better."
Fifth-seeded Lindsay Davenport is atop the women's U.S. Open series standings and owns a four-tournament win streak on the summer hardcourt circuit that includes confidence-building wins over Serena and Venus Williams.
On the men's side, fans would be happy to see a reignition of the budding rivalry between Federer and Roddick.
Roddick, at heart, is an entertainer. So he loves the U.S. Open and its Big Apple buzz, the fans who offer players high-fives, just the general state of hyperactivity.
Federer, at heart, is a fastidious player. The Swiss star could do without the Open's hustle and bustle, heat and humidity and wind, traffic on the trip from Manhattan to Queens, airplanes' roars, just the general state of hyperactivity.
The Open would be the perfect setting for a Federer vs. Roddick final, a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown to cap the Grand Slam season and jump-start a rivalry. With contrasting talents and personalities, there's no reason they can't form a Borg-McEnroe, Europe-U.S., love-one-hate-the-other axis.
Ask one half of the sport's most recent transcendent pairing: Andre Agassi, whose recent run of success plus the muscle memory of eight Slam titles make him an Open contender.
"They're a cut above. I think Roger has certainly separated himself. But then there's Andy," said Agassi, who lost three Open finals to Pete Sampras.
While Roddick provides highlight-reel fodder with blink-you-miss-it serves and forehands, Federer plays defense, picking spots for attacking shots no one else tries. And he's 7-1 against Roddick.
Lleyton Hewitt, the 2001 U.S. Open champ, leads the men's U.S. Open series standings thanks to his win Sunday in the TD Waterhouse Cup final.
TESTUD OUT: Sandrine Testud, 32, of France pulled out because of an injured right foot. Her spot will be filled by Camille Pin of France, who lost in qualifying. Pin's main-draw debut at Flushing Meadows will come against Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia.
