Despite the prevalent notion that the US Open would be a cakewalk for world no.1 Serena Williams, some naysayers believe she will fall short.
Serena is on the cusp of a "calendar Grand Slam" wherein she would take all Grand Slam titles within one calendar year. She has won the 2015 Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon.
Only the US Open stands in her way, and according to FTW she might not get past the hurdle.
Chris Chase cites three major reasons why Serena, on course to become one of the greatest ever, may lose in the US Open.
1) Percentages - "Yes, she's won 21 Grand Slams, the second most of all time, but she's also lost 39. That means she's won 35% of her major tournaments, which is stunning, but still means she's lost almost twice as much as she's won. Winning seven matches in 14 days is nothing anyone should take for granted, even when you're as dominant as Serena."
2) Serena might cave in to the pressure. She has gone in public to express how much of a big deal this is. "I have always dreamt of winning the Grand Slam," she told reporters. "It was just a dream. I never thought I would be close to doing something like that." That might prove to be her undoing.
3) Serena has a tendency to be careless when facing lower ranked players. "In Serena's last seven Grand Slam losses, every defeat has come to a player ranked No. 14 or below and five of those seven losses came to women seeded No. 25 or below, including three who weren't seeded at all." Serena has her eye on the prize, but she may lose sight of the player right in front of her.
CNN also said it's possible, but it's a slim chance because, as former champion Justine Henin says, "But (what's) very hard against her is that even if she's not playing at her best, when she is under pressure she can, especially on her serve, do a fantastic job."