Top seed Jelena Jankovic's US Open chances continued to dim with a listless 7-6, 6-3 loss to 75th-ranked Czech Iveta Benesova in her opening match at the Montreal Cup on Tuesday.
IMAGES from Day 5 of the 2020 US Open in New York on Friday.
Federer and world number one Nadal won the first three grand slam titles of the season as they came back to prominence with a bang, and nothing suggests their first-round opponents, American Frances Tiafoe and Serbian Dusan Lajovic, will bother them.
Sharapova was granted a wildcard entry to the last Grand Slam of the season but received a tough first-round draw in the shape of Romanian Halep.
Ana Konjuh was not a year old when Serena Williams played her first US Open match but both will be in the Arthur Ashe Stadium spotlight on Wednesday, with four gripping quarter-finals to take centre stage at the year's final Grand Slam.
Ana Konjuh has opened some eyes at Flushing Meadows as the 18-year-old former world number one junior emerged to reach her first Grand Slam quarter-final at the US Open.
A summary of Thursday's action at the US Open.
Italian Roberta Vinci crushed the world number one's hope of completing a calendar grand slam by reaching the women's singles US Open final for the first time in her career.
Something old and something new distinguish the women's semi-finals at the US Open on Friday when young and seasoned rivalries will determine combatants for the singles crown.
It was like old times at Arthur Ashe Stadium as US Open fans gave Andre Agassi a rousing ovation as the former champion was honoured before Monday's opening night programme at Flushing Meadows.
While all eyes are on Roger Federer and Serena Williams, who begin the defence of their US Open titles at Flushing Meadows on Monday, at look at some lower-ranked players who could make an impact last Grand Slam of the year.
Here is a factual guide on the man of the moment...
Michael Bloomberg, who is reportedly considering an independent run at the US presidency, derided xenophobic politicians and said immigration and diversity were good for America
The professional tennis circuit, which requires players to jet around the world, was forced into shutdown in early March as countries went into lockdown and closed their borders to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Former US Open winners Marat Safin, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Lindsay Davenport skidded out of the Grand Slam on Friday.
World number one Novak Djokovic lost to rivals Roger Federer and Andy Murray in the finals of US Open warm-up events but the Serb insists those defeats have aided his preparations for the last grand slam of the season.
Serena Williams has not won a set in any of the four Grand Slam finals she has reached since returning from maternity leave in September 2017.
Rafael Nadal will be aiming to win a record-extending 13th French Open when the re-scheduled claycourt event starts at the end of September.
Newly-crowned US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro said he had set his sights on becoming world number one and winning the Masters after being given a hero's welcome home to Argentina on Wednesday.
Belgian Kim Clijsters crowned her remarkable comeback by beating 19-year-old Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 7-5, 6-3 to win the US Open women's title on Sunday.
Belgian comeback queen Kim Clijsters knocked out Serena Williams in a wildly controversial finish on Saturday to advance to the final of the US Open and become the poster girl for working mothers.
Unrelenting rain washed out play at the US Open on Friday, sending the tournament to a Monday finish for the second year in a row. The final Grand Slam of the year had been treated to near-perfect weather for the first 10 days but heavy rain over the last 24 hours wreaked havoc with the schedule.
Leander Paes and Cara Black's hopes of retaining the US Open mixed doubles crown were dashed by Carly Gullickson and Travis Parrott on the Arthur Ashe court at Flushing Meadows on Friday. The unseeded US pair came up with their best showing over the past two weeks to upset the defending champions 6-2, 6-4 in the final and claim the title.
Flushing Meadows shook with an explosion of deafening roars on Saturday as American teenage sensation Melanie Oudin sent former champion Maria Sharapova spinning out of the US Open.
Somdev Devvarman was shown the exit door in the second round of the US Open on Thursday but the Indian preferred to look on the bright side of his experience at Flushing Meadows.
Leander Paes is seen with wife Rhea Pillai and daughter Aiyana in a New York restaurant.
Ana Ivanovic discovered there was no where to hide at Flushing Meadows as she slumped out of the US Open in the first round with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 defeat by Ukrainian Kateryna Bondarenko on Tuesday.
Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza notched up a rare double for India at the US Open by advancing to the second round of the season's last Grand Slam with contrasting opening wins at the Flushing Meadows hardcourts.
With Nadal and Federer both skipping the tournament, Djokovic's sensational exit on Sunday after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball opened up the field for a younger cohort of players.
India's Somdev Devvarman beat Poland's Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 6-2 in his third and final round of the qualifiers to enter the US Open main draw at Flushing Meadows on Saturday.
Somdev Devvarman is on the verge of qualifying for the singles main draw of the US Open as the Indian requires just three more points to clinch the final round match against Poland's Jerzy Janowicz. India's numero uno singles player Somdev was leading 6-3, 5-2 against his rival in the third round match when rain forced suspension of the play at Flushing Meadows in New York, on Friday.
The Indian Davis Cupper reached the final round of the US Open qualifying tournament following a hard-earned win over Igor Sijsling at Flushing Meadows in New York on Thursday night. Somdev beat his Dutch opponent 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3 in a two-hour 19 minutes second round encounter.
Naomi Osaka has sacked her second coach in seven months, splitting with Jermaine Jenkins
The decision marks Clijsters' second return to the sport after first retiring in 2007.
Images from Day VII of the US Open tennis championships at Flushing Meadows, New York on Sunday.
Second seed Roger Federer powered to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 win over Roberto Bautista on Tuesday, charging into the quarter-finals of the US Open for the 10th time in 11 years.
World number one Rafa Nadal, searching for his first US Open title, says he has to improve rapidly to have a chance of glory at Flushing Meadows later this month.
Two-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka advanced to the US Open final for the second time in her career with a 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-3 victory over big-hitting Jennifer Brady.
She has emerged as one of the most measured, and perhaps most unanticipated, voices to address racial injustice in America.
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