ED MCGROGAN, SENIOR EDITOR: Garbine Muguruza
The Spaniard is an overwhelming favorite to win her third career major title, and her first U.S. Open. Not to the degree that an in-form Serena Williams has been at Slams, but Muguruza is playing the best tennis of her career, and every other player in the Top 10 has serious questions.
NINA PANTIC, ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Simona Halep
At some point, it just has to happen. She’s been one match away from becoming world No. 1 on three occasions, and one win away becoming a Grand Slam champion twice. She’s paid her dues, put in her hours and kept her cool for long enough. Despite a lopsided loss to Muguruza in the Cincinnati final, Halep has been one of the most consistent players this summer. She was unlucky to draw Maria Sharapova in her opener, but the Russian has barely played since her April tour return.
BRAD KALLET, ONLINE EDITOR: Karolina Pliskova
Muguruza probably comes in as the favorite, but I don’t think she’s consistent enough to win two consecutive Slams. The world No. 1 reached the final here last year, and she won’t have Serena or an in-form Angelique Kerber in her way this time around. Pliskova will take home her first career major.
STEVE TIGNOR, SENIOR WRITER: Garbine Muguruza
She’s never been past the second round at Flushing Meadows, and her path includes an assortment of obstacles, including Petra Kvitova, Venus Williams and Caroline Wozniacki. But no one has found a way to stop Muguruza when her game is clicking—and recently, it’s been clicking pretty regularly on the big stages.
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MCGROGAN: Daria Gavrilova
How much stock should we put into tournaments held directly before a major? Gavrilova is into the final four in New Haven, and when she eventually takes the Merritt Parkway south to New York, she'll travel with confidence. But will fatigue hold her back once she arrives? Maybe in the second week, but I think she'll at least get that far.
PANTIC: CiCi Bellis
The darling of the 2014 Open is now the darling of American tennis. The 18-year-old just missed out on getting a seed, and will be more than comfortable in front of a crowd that is eager to see her go further than a career-best third-round appearance. This superstar career is only just beginning.
KALLET: Julia Goerges
The German has never had much success in Flushing Meadows, but she impressed in the tournaments leading up to the Open. She reached the final in Washington and, two weeks later, ousted Agnieszka Radwanska and Elina Svitolina in Cincinnati. She can beat anyone when she’s on, and she’s riding some momentum into New York.
TIGNOR: Sloane Stephens
Stephens is about as dangerous as a non-seed can be. After returning from foot surgery, she looked like a new, calmer and more focused player as she recorded wins over Kerber, Kvitova, Ekaterina Makarova and Lucie Safarova. Sloane plays Roberta Vinci first, but her draw makes a deep run plausible.
