US Open Series Winners – Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams

After five weeks of warm-up, the Emirates Airline US Open Series makes-way for the fourth and final Grand Slam on the tennis calendar: The US Open Tennis Championships in Flushing Meadows. Series participants racked-up points along the way, working to finish in the top-3, hoping to earn additional prize money through a strong showing in New York.

With back-to-back tournament wins in Montreal and Cincinnati, Rafael Nadal finished first for the fellas; while Serena Williams captured the top-spot on the ladies side after a first-place finish in Toronto and a finals appearance in Cincinnati. Should either win the US Open, they’ll each now earn an additional $1-million…for a final paycheck worth $3.6-million!

Second-place finishers John Isner and Victoria Azarenka could earn an additional $500,000 with a win at the Open. Juan Martin del Potro and Agnieszka Radwanska finished third in the Series, meaning an Open-win could net them an additional $250,000 in prize money. Here’s a break-down of potential payout for all six, depending on how they finish at this year’s US Open:

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NADAL / WILLIAMS

  • Winner – $1,000,000
  • Finalist – $500,000
  • Semifinalist – $250,000
  • Quarterfinalist – $125,000
  • Round of 16 – $70,000
  • Round of 32 – $40,000
  • Round of 64 – $25,000
  • Round of 128 – $15,000

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ISNER / AZARENKA

  • Winner – $500,000
  • Finalist – $250,000
  • Semifinalist – $125,000
  • Quarterfinalist – $62,500
  • Round of 16 – $35,000
  • Round of 32 – $20,000
  • Round of 64 – $12,500
  • Round of 128 – $7,500

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DEL POTRO / RADWANSKA

  • Winner – $250,000
  • Finalist – $125,000
  • Semifinalist – $62,500
  • Quarterfinalist – $31,250
  • Round of 16 – $17,500
  • Round of 32 – $10,000
  • Round of 64 – $6,250
  • Round of 128 – $3,750

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Last week in Winston-Salem, 32-year-old veteran Jurgen Melzer captured his fifth ATP World Tour singles title with a 6-3, 2-1(ret) victory over Gael Monfils. Monfils suffered a hip-injury during his semifinal win over Alexandr Dolgopolov the day before, and simply couldn’t finish the match.

Leander Paes and Daniel Nestor teamed to win the doubles title over Treat Huey and Dominic Inglot 7-6(12-10), 7-5

Meanwhile, Simona Halep picked-up her fourth title this year with a win at the New Haven Open at Yale. In fact, she only dropped one set in her five matches up in Connecticut, eventually taking-out Petra Kvitova in the final 6-2, 6-2. With the win, Halep cracks the top-20 and enters the US Open ranked 19th on the WTA Tour.

Sania Mirza and Jie Zheng defeated Anabel Medina Garrigues and Katarina Srebotnik 6-3, 6-4 to win the New Haven Open Doubles Title.

2013 US OPEN SERIES TOURNAMENT WINNERS

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The guys:

  • Atlanta: John Isner
  • Washington D.C.: Juan Martin del Potro
  • Montreal: Rafael Nadal
  • Cincinnati: Rafael Nadal
  • Winston-Salem: Jurgen Melzer

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The ladies:

  • Stanford: Dominika Cibulkova
  • Carlsbad: Samantha Stosur
  • Washington D.C.: Magdalena Rybarikova
  • Toronto: Serena Williams
  • Cincinnati: Victoria Azarenka
  • New Haven: Simona Halep

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The 2013 US Open is underway at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, after an incredible kick-off Saturday with Arthur Ashe Kids Day. I’m looking forward to an exciting two weeks of tennis in New York – keep an eye on the website for updates!