NEW YORK _ When we last left Serena Williams at the U.S. Open she was involved in a raucous argument with the chair umpire that led to code violations and ultimately to her loss to Naomi Osaka in the final. Since then she has failed to win a tournament (lost to Simona Halep in the Wimbledon final), pulled out of others with injuries (including last week at Cincinnati with a bad back) and thus is a question mark at this U.S. Open. She is still in hot pursuit of a 24th Grand Slam title. With a day off between matches at this Slam, the soon-to-be 37-year-old might get sufficient rest to make another run. And, as always, she remains the player to watch.
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