Serena is the greatest player of the modern era: Amritraj

Serena Williams is all set to play her final Grand Slam of her storied career next week at the US Open and Indian tennis legend Vijay Amritraj called her the greatest player of the modern era.

Speaking at a media interaction organised by broadcaster Sony, Amritraj said, “What she has done for women’s tennis is the single greatest achievement in any sport. You can compare the achievements of Tiger Woods, Carl Lewis, and Michael Schumacher but what the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena) have done for to tennis supersedes all of them.”

Wide open field

Commenting on the women’s field, Amritraj said, “the great thing about women’s tennis is that it is wide open. Anyone can come and win and there will be upsets along the way. In Wimbledon, we saw the number 17 seed Elena Rybakina win it even though Ons Jabeur was the favourite in the final.”

In the absence of Novak Djokovic, the field is similarly open on the men’s side and Amritraj felt it was time for one of the younger challengers to come to the fore.

“Missing Novak is a pity for the tournament and it is what it is. But the quality of tennis will be spectacular. We have to see if someone from the second line of attack like (Jannik) Sinner, (Carlos) Alcaraz or (Stefanos) Tsitsipas can step forward and win.”

On Nadal winning

“Nadal, having won so much, will still be one of the favourites even at 80 %. But a lot will depend on how many sets he plays in the first week. If he has three-set matches in the first couple of rounds, he will continue to be the favourite,” added the former India Davis Cup captain.

Watch the LIVE coverage of the US Open 2022 on Sony Six & Sony TEN 2 channels from August 29th.