Tracy Austin reveals her dark horse to win the US Open who ‘nobody wants to see in their draw’

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The US Open is nearly underway with the final grand slam of the tennis calendar set to hold several surprises.

Coco Gauff is approaching the US Open in the complete opposite way to last year.

With just one win on the hard courts this year compared to her two titles in Washington and Cincinnati last year, Gauff is one of several WTA stars who are desperately searching for form.

Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula have so far been the two in-form players, with Pegula defending her title in Canada before reaching the final in Cincinnati, which Sabalenka won.

The Belarusian who has now leapfrogged Gauff into second in the WTA rankings also comes in as the number two seed for the US Open and looks to be the red-hot favorite.

Tracy Austin says Amanda Anisimova will be one to watch at the US Open

Sabalenka’s only real hiccup so far in North America was against Amanda Anisimova in Toronto.

A thundering performance from the American saw Sabalenka rather ironically suffer from the pace and power that she is known for.

Anisimova, who took some time away from tennis over the last two years, has returned and since seemingly rediscovered her form.

“She beat Kasatkina, Sabalenka, beat Navarro, went three sets with Pegula, and I think she’s somebody that nobody wants to see in their draw,” Austin told Tennis.com about Anisimova’s recent surge in form.

“Big serve, her groundstrokes are so powerful, she’s able to find the corners, and now she has the confidence.”

Just how good has Amanda Anismova’s recent form been?

With her run in Toronto, she returned to the top 50, moving more than 80 positions up from 132nd.

Anisimova’s huge baseline game was already a destructive feature of her game when she first burst onto the scene.

A French Open semi-final appearance after beating defending champion Simona Halep and Sabalenka saw Anisimova rise to just outside the top 20, which remains her career-high.

Her bruising run to the finals in Toronto was so narrowly ended by Pegula, who managed to edge the match in a deciding set.

Emma Navarro tipped Anisimova to continue her huge rise through the rankings after she was defeated by her in the Toronto semi-finals.

Having received a wildcard into the main draw, the 22-year-old is arriving in fine form and will likely be a very difficult first round opponent for one of the top seeds.