Serena and Venus Williams in line for a potential third-round blockbuster
Friday 24 August 2018 11:29, UK
British No 1 Johanna Konta has been handed a tough draw against sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the US Open first round.
Konta has paid the price for her ranking plummeting after a poor year and is unseeded.
She is the only British woman in the main draw by right, with Heather Watson and Katie Swan still in qualifying to make the first round.
The 27-year-old has managed successive runs to the fourth round in New York in 2015 and 2016, but she faces a difficult opener against an opponent who was knocked out of the Connecticut Open quarter-finals on Thursday.
Serena and Venus Williams could face a potential third-round date, which would be their earliest Grand Slam meeting in 20 years.
Serena leads 17-12 and that includes nine all-in-the-family Grand Slam finals, most recently at the 2017 Australian Open.
If the sisters do play each other, the winner could face world No 1 Simona Halep in the fourth round. The Romanian opens against Kaia Kanepi.
Serena's opener comes against 60th-ranked Magda Linette of Poland, while Venus faces a tricky first-round match against Svetlana Kuznetsova, whose two major championships include the 2004 US Open.
World No 2 Caroline Wozniacki takes on 2011 champion Sam Stosur, while defending champion Sloane Stephens meets Evgenia Medvedeva and could face former No 1 Victoria Azarenka in the third round.
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Tennis is back on Sky Sports screens with the Laver Cup in September while we will also have coverage of the ATP Finals in November with every match live on Sky Sports. But first, we will be across the final major of the year in New York as the US Open gets underway on August 27, right through to the final with live blogs, reports, features and reaction.
