NEW YORK, NY, USA – Ready? Set? Go! The final major of 2016 is about to get underway, and Chris Oddo has your US Open Day One preview right here at wtatennis.com.

Monday, First Round

Arthur Ashe Stadium
[2] Angelique Kerber (GER #2) vs. Polona Hercog (SLO #120)
Head-to-head: Kerber leads, 3-2
Key Stat: Kerber will ascend to the No.1 ranking if Serena Williams does not reach the semifinals in New York.

Angelique Kerber has won her last 13 matches against players ranked outside of the Top 100 at majors, and one would think that the German would be able to take care of business against Slovenia’s Polona Hercog without too much fuss on Monday. The 28-year-old southpaw has been having a banner year, and she’s the tour’s win leader as well as its hardcourt win leader. And that’s not all. Kerber was a match away from claiming the WTA’s No.1 ranking in Cincinnati, but she fell in the final to Karolina Pliskova and remains No.2 this week at Flushing Meadows. Will being the hunter rather than the hunted work in Kerber’s favor in New York? Or will she be bothered by the fact that she came so close in Cincinnati but fell short? Carrying the No.1 ranking into New York could have been a tricky proposition for Kerber, and maybe starting out in New York without it will help her relax. Kerber has been one of the tour’s steadiest players all season, winning 47 matches and claiming her maiden Grand Slam title in Australia. Unless Hercog, who has not won a hardcourt match since February, comes up with a performance for the ages, Kerber should cruise.

Pick: Kerber in two

[8] Madison Keys (USA #9) vs. Alison Riske (USA #60)
Head-to-head: Keys leads, 4-1
Key Stat: Keys owns a 15-6 hardcourt record this season, with a runner-up finish in Montréal.

She was one of the hottest players on tour until she got cooled off at the Olympic tennis event. Madison Keys stormed to the Olympic semifinals on a 25-4 tear before dropping back-to-back matches to Angelique Kerber and Petra Kvitova in both medal rounds. Will the painful experience of coming so close then being deprived of an Olympic medal fuel Keys to higher highs or will it leave her shaken as the year’s final major begins? Keys will look to exorcise a few demons in her first-round matchup with fellow American Alison Riske, but she’ll have her hands full with her feisty compatriot. Riske has lost in the first round in New York in each of the last two years but in 2013 she made a surprise run to the second week, proving that she can both embrace and perform on the big stage in the Big Apple.

Pick: Keys in two

Louis Armstrong Stadium
[9] Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS #10) vs. Francesca Schiavone (ITA #97)
Head-to-head: Kuznetsova leads, 9-6
Key Stat: Schiavone and Kuznetsova are two of the nine active Grand Slam champions in this year’s US Open main draw.

This pair of former Grand Slam champions played the longest match in Grand Slam history at the Australian Open in 2011, and at Roland Garros in 2015 they played the fifth-longest match in Grand Slam history. Both epics were won by Schiavone in marathon third sets, but anybody who witnessed these incredible encounters knows that tennis fans were the real winner. So, what will these two legends of the game bestow upon their legions of fans on Monday in New York? Kuznetsova has had the far better year, and she holds the edge in the pair’s head-to-head, but something about the Russian seems to bring out the very best in Schiavone. Though the Italian is ranked just inside the Top 100 we fully expect her to summon her Top 10 form and take Kuznetsova and fans on another turbulent, emotional ride.

Pick: Kuznetsova in three

Grandstand
[13] Johanna Konta (GBR #14) vs. Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA #109)
Head-to-head: First meeting
Key Stat: Konta has not been past the second round of her last two major appearances.

Johanna Konta’s impressive rise continues with nary a dip in form in 2016. The British No.1, who owns a 24-10 record on hardcourts this season, backed up her first career title in Stanford by notching back-to-back quarterfinals at Montréal and the Olympics. She fell in three sets in the third round at Cincinnati to Agnieszka Radwanska, and though it was a difficult loss it gave her plenty of time to come to New York and prepare for the year’s final major. Just last year Konta had to qualify for the US Open before she produced a stunning run to the second week that included a takedown of Garbiñe Muguruza in the second round. A year later the 25-year-old is just a touch shy of reaching the Top 10. It’s great news for Konta, but it comes with some added pressure and a target on her back. And 31-year-old Bethanie Mattek-Sands has always been one to shoot boldly for a target. The American pushed Serena Williams to three sets in the third-round last year at the Open, but she’ll need to find her form quickly if she is to surprise Konta – Mattek-Sands has gone winless on hardcourts this season, losing all six matches.

Pick: Konta in three

Around the grounds…
No.11 seed Petra Kvitova will seek her first career win against 19-year-old Latvian Jelena Ostapenko. Ostapenko has defeated Kvitova twice already in 2016. Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig will make her return to action against China’s Zheng Saisai in a first-time meeting on old Grandstand court. The youngest player in the draw, 16-year-old American Kayla Day, will make her Grand Slam debut against compatriot Madison Brengle.

By the Numbers…
19 – Number of players who are 30 or older in this year’s draw. 36-year-old Venus Williams is the oldest.
7 – Number of teenagers in this year’s draw. 16-year-old American Kayla Day is the youngest.
2014 – The last time four different players held major titles. That could happen again this year if someone other than Angelique Kerber, Garbiñe Muguruza or Serena Williams wins the title. It has only happened 11 times in the Open Era.
9 – Number of former Grand Slam champions in this year’s draw, of which four (Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Kuznetsova, Samantha Stosur) are former US Open champions.