By ADAM ZAGORIA
Serena Williams’ path to a 24th Grand Slam singles title is strewn with major obstacles.
Williams, 36, was drawn on Thursday to meet her older sister, Venus Williams, in the third round of the US Open, and could meet world No. 1 and French Open champ Simona Halep in the fourth round.
Serena is the No. 17 seed at the Open, which begins Monday, while Venus is the 16 seed.
“Watch out for Serena, she’s motivated,” two-time US Open champ Tracy Austin said at the draw.
Williams, who has won 23 career Grand Slam titles, hasn’t won the Open since 2014. She did not play a year ago because she was busy having her first child, daughter Alexis Olympia.
“She’s in my opinion the best player ever to play our game, so I think her being back is very special no matter what she’s ranked, no matter what she’s seeded,” reigning US Open champ Sloane Stephens said at the draw. “She’s obviously going to be the best so I think that her being back is incredibly special. Last year we stepped up big time with four Americans in the semis, two Americans in the final, so we represented well.
“But this year she’s back and it’s great and American tennis is really flourishing at the moment.”
That quarter also features No. 8 Karolina Pliskova and No. 12 Garbine Muguruza. The top half of the draw also features Stephens, the defending US Open champ who begins her title defense against Evgeniya Rodina, and could potentially face Halep or Serena in the semis. The bottom half of the draw features No. 2 seed and Australian Open champ Caroline Wozniacki, No. 4 and Wimbledon champ Angelique Kerber, No. 14 and US Open runner-up Madison Keys and No. 22 Maria Sharapova, who has won a career Grand Slam. Photo: US Open Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter And Like ZAGS on FacebookWe could have a potential third-round match between @Venuseswilliams and @serenawilliams in R3!
Read More: https://t.co/Ucny6PNVIT #USOpen pic.twitter.com/JcZn6FYhJ9 — US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 23, 2018
