By ADAM ZAGORIA
In years past, the US Open women’s field has often been about Serena Williams….and everybody else.
Among her 23 Grand Slam singles titles, Williams has won the US Open six times, including three straight from 2012-14.
But with Serena out on maternity leave for this year’s event, the field is now as wide open as the Northern border on Game of Thrones after the destruction of The Wall.
“There are so many [top players] now that are fighting for the same,” said No. 3 seed Garbiñe Muguruza after her 6-0, 6-3 first-round destruction of American Varvara Lepchenko on Monday. “We are all very close, very equal. There are going to be some surprises, as always.”
One of those surprises occurred later Monday night when Maria Sharapova, who was granted a wildcard into the Open after serving a 15-month doping ban, stunned No. 2 Simona Halep, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, in a thrilling match that lasted nearly three hours and was more worthy of a semifinal or a final than a first-round encounter.
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