{"id":1539,"date":"2015-08-30T23:27:57","date_gmt":"2015-08-30T23:27:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/indextemp.php\/?p=1539"},"modified":"2015-08-30T23:27:57","modified_gmt":"2015-08-30T23:27:57","slug":"arriving-in-the-big-apple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/indextemp.php\/arriving-in-the-big-apple\/","title":{"rendered":"Arriving in the Big Apple"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Maria<\/a>

Maria Bueno arrives in the Big Apple<\/p><\/div>\n

Maria has arrived in the Big Apple\u00a0ahead of the US Open and is sporting an elaborate splint on her left hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately I had a fall and had to have surgery to repair the injury about three weeks ago when they put a pin in it, so I have to wear this removable cast to do exercises every day for eight weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe surgeon is pleased with how it is going now and it should be okay once the pin is out. It was a bit unlucky!\u201d<\/p>\n

The unfortunate incident isn\u2019t slowing Maria down much, however, and she has been using her short stay at home in Sao Paulo to catch up with her business meetings, family and friends, as well as\u00a0appearing in several features for TV and the internet before flying into New York\u00a0over the weekend.<\/p>\n

She is now focusing her attention on this year\u2019s US Open at Flushing Meadows.<\/p>\n

The women\u2019s draw<\/h3>\n
\"Serena<\/a>

Serena Williams won the 2014 US Open and followed it with wins in Australia, Paris and Wimbledon.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cEveryone is talking about Serena [Williams] going for the Grand Slam and the pressure is piling up on her.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe has managed to win in Australia, Paris and at Wimbledon but has struggled in every tournament, dropping sets and even facing match points at times.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has never happened to her before and the other players in the draw are certainly noticing that she is now vulnerable and not as dominant as in the past but you still have to back her to come through.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Serena can prevail, she will be the first player to win a calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988, when the German added Olympic Gold too to her tally.<\/p>\n

\u201cSimona Halep is the number two seed and she took a set off Serena in Cincinnati and got very close to beating her and as she is in the easier half of the draw with Petra Kvitova and Victoria Azarenka to worry about.<\/p>\n

\u201cSerena\u2019s half is way tougher, although with Maria Sharapova pulling out today [Sunday] with a leg injury, it just got a little easier, psychologically.<\/p>\n

\u201cSerena has to handle several rivals, including, perhaps, Coco Vandeweghe, Sloane Stephens or Madison Keys, all of whom would dearly love to score a win over her in front of home crowds, and then she also has to probably face Agnieszka Radwanska and Belinda Bencic or Karolina Pliskova to get to the quarters.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd her sister Venus is also sitting in her half, not to mention Ana Ivanovic, Makarova, Suarez Navarro, Svitolina and Jankovic, all of who can threaten her these days and one of them will surely make it through to the semi-final.\u201d<\/p>\n

The men\u2019s draw<\/h3>\n
\"Maria<\/a>

Maria Bueno with Roger Federer at the 2014 US Open<\/p><\/div>\n

Turning to the men, Maria is delighted with the form that Roger Federer is currently showing.<\/p>\n

\u201cRoger delivered a master class to both Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray in Cincinnati,\u201d Maria said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so impressed that I sent him an email! He continues to work on his game and has improved his volleying so much that he can reduce the rallies down and break up his opponent\u2019s rhythm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just hope he hasn\u2019t peaked too early for New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

Federer briefly lost the number two ranking to Andy Murray but regained it in time to be seeded second in New York, keeping him safely away from Djokovic until the final.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has Murray in his half and a couple of tricky players in his quarter, like John Isner, Richard Gasquet and Tomas Berdych, but should come through easily enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis big test will be either Murray or Stan Wawrinka.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for Djokovic, he has lost twice since Wimbledon and may be feeling a little rocky, especially with Rafa [Nadal] in his quarter.<\/p>\n

\u201cRafa has dropped to being seeded at 8 and although he seems to be losing a lot these days, he is still a very real threat, especially if he can boost his confidence with a few wins under his belt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still think Novak will come through his quarter to probably face Kei Nishikori, who desperately wants to go a step further in the final, Marin Cilic, the current champion, or David Ferrer, although Ferrer hasn\u2019t played a match since Queen\u2019s because of an elbow injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs for can Roger beat Djokovic, we will have to wait and see!\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying a new racket<\/h3>\n

Maria paid a visit to the Wilson shop at the US Open site on Sunday and was pleased to touch base with the crew there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are really great and look after me well,\u201d Maria said. \u201cI\u2019m going to try a new racket this week, which they have specially strung for me.<\/p>\n