US Open 2013: Experts' picks for the women's draw

The tennis experts of Sportskeeda look ahead at the 2013 US Open by making picks for the women’s draw in four categories: dark horse, early exit, dangerous floater, and champion.

1. Dark horse

Caroline Wozniacki

Haresh Ramchandani: I’d have liked to pick Sloane Stephens as my dark horse, but she’s drawn Serena in round four. Even if she does beat Serena, I don’t see her going on to sustain that form for three more matches. Therefore, I am going with the unpredictable Li Na.

SivaramL: Caroline Wozniacki has had the best memories of her career at the Open and this year, she has been trying to get herself back into the top 5 even if the results so far have been mixed. A decent showing at Cincy where she took Victoria Azarenka to a tie-breaker and the continuation of that run in New Haven this week make her my dark horse pick.

Virendra: Li Na is a wonderful character; she also is one of the best shot-makers in the women’s game. The Chinese player reached the semifinals in both the warm-up events that she played and comes into the tournament on the back of some solid hardcourt form. The faster courts should also facilitate her attacking brand of tennis and though she has a tough draw, with a few upsets and a little bit of luck, she could make a run for the title.

Roh: Petra Kvitova hasn’t had much chance to continue in the footsteps of her maiden Major win at Wimbledon three years ago. Seeded seventh at the US Open this year, the left-hander makes for a worthy nomination as a dark horse, as she is always capable of stunning a few favourites along the way.

Ram Narayanan: Svetlana Kuznetsova, a former US Open champion, did relatively well at this year’s French Open before getting ousted by eventual champion Serena Williams, which is no disgrace. She may be seeded 27th right now but she is better than most of the players who are ranked above her. To me, she is the dark horse of the tournament with the ability to create a few upsets.

BallnRacquet: Asia’s first Grand Slam winner Li Na seems to be the best choice to have a shot at the title outside the top 4. She had good showings at Montreal and Cincinnati and will be looking to build upon the momentum. A win here would be a fantastic achievement for the ageing champ.

Sumer: Caroline Wozniacki could not have asked for a better draw. The only seeded players who she should be worried about are 14th seed Maria Kirilenko and 4th seed Sara Errani, who’ve both had an underwhelming US hardcourt campaign. I wouldn’t at all be shocked not to see Caroline reach the semifinal from her section of the draw. If she does get there, her probable opponent would be Azarenka, and with the head-to-head record in her favour, there would be a strong possibility of seeing the Dane in the final.

Musab Abid: Samantha Stosur has seen better days, but the US Open has been a happy hunting ground for her the last couple of years. She won the title in 2011 and in 2012 played possibly the best match of the tournament in the quarterfinals, going down to Victoria Azarenka in a nail-biting 3rd set tiebreaker. If she gets on a roll again, she can certainly make things very interesting.