NEW YORK — Top-seeded world number ones Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic help launch the U.S. Open tennis championships on Monday's opening day of the year's final grand slam.
Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Djokovic closes the day programme at Arthur Ashe Stadium against 89th-ranked Joao Souza of Brazil.
Three-times defending U.S. champion Williams, the Australian, French and Wimbledon champion seeking to become the fourth woman ever to complete a Grand Slam, opens the night programme against 86th-ranked Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia.
The tournament's first match on the Arthur Ashe centre court pits seventh-seeded Ana Ivanovic of Serbia against Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia, followed by two-times U.