Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova face-off likely in US Open semis

Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova in the semifinals of Wimbledon for her 17th straight victory over the Russian. (Source: AP)

Serena Williams could face Maria Sharapova for her second straight major semifinal as she seeks to complete the Grand Slam at the U.S. Open. Thursday’s draw filled the top-ranked Williams’ quarter of the bracket with Americans, nine in all.

In the third round, Williams could face 29th-seeded Sloane Stephens, who beat her in the 2013 Australian Open and is coming off her first WTA title in Washington this month. Another up-and-coming U.S. player, 19th-seeded Madison Keys, could await in the fourth round.

And in the quarterfinals, one potential opponent is her sister, 23rd-seeded Venus Williams. Another possible quarterfinal foe is 12th-seeded Swiss teen Belinda Bencic, who recently upset Williams in Toronto en route to a breakthrough title.

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Williams is seeking to complete the first Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988. She beat Sharapova in the semifinals of Wimbledon for her 17th straight victory over the Russian on the way to her second “Serena Slam” — four major championships in a row, but just not in the same year.

Second-seeded Simona Halep and fourth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, who lost to Williams in last year’s U.S. Open final, are in the other half of the draw.

On the men’s side, second-seeded Roger Federer and No. 3 Andy Murray could meet in one semifinal, with No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Kei Nishikori, last year’s runner-up, in the other.

Djokovic could face Rafael Nadal, who’s seeded just eighth, in the quarterfinals.

Nadal has a tough first-round match against fast-rising 18-year-old Borna Coric of Croatia, who just missed out on a seed with a ranking of 35th in the world and last year won their only head-to-head meeting. Murray has an intriguing opening match with another young player who just missed out on a seed, 37th-ranked Nick Kyrgios.

The 20-year-old Australian comes into the U.S. Open with controversy swirling around him, facing a provisional suspension from the ATP for comments made to Stan Wawrinka in Montreal.

During their match Aug. 12, a courtside microphone picked up Kyrgios saying that fellow Australia Thanasi Kokkinakis had slept with a player who reportedly is now Wawrinka’s girlfriend.

Kyrgios has given Murray little trouble on the court, losing in straight sets in this year’s Australian and French Opens. Nishikori could face defending champ Marin Cilic, who’s seeded ninth, in the quarters in a rematch of last year’s final.

Shrugging off jitters

Serena Williams is trying to ignore “the elephant in the room” ahead of the U.S. Open. “I’m OK with it. I’m really not even talking about it,” the tennis pro said at an event in New York on Wednesday. If she wins the U.S. Open, which starts August 31, it will be her fifth straight major title and the first calendar Grand Slam by a woman since Steffi Graf did it in 1988.

Williams instead channeled any nervous energy into singing at a karaoke night sponsored by Delta Air Lines, now in its second year. Before the show, she said she was more worried about her song choice than her tennis game.

“I’m going to make a game time decision. I always get so nervous every year like, ‘I don’t know what to do, I don’t know what to do,”’ she said.

Williams, 33, ended up choosing “Under the Sea” from “The Little Mermaid,” complete with dance moves and Caribbean accent.

“We just kind of wanted to celebrate just kicking off (the) U.S. Open and having fun and relaxing and enjoying it,” said Williams.

Kei Nishikori, who is seeded fourth for the U.S. Open, also was there. After having to withdraw from the Cincinnati Masters because of fatigue and a hip injury, Nishikori said he’s now doing well.

“I’m feeling pretty good. After (Montreal) I took one week off,” he said. “I couldn’t play Cincinnati, but otherwise I’m feeling pretty good and my tennis is, you know, getting better and feeling very solid.”

Other celebrities in attendance included Laverne Cox, Uzo Aduba and Jason Biggs of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black,” singer Estelle and actor Alan Cumming.