Serena can still win the U.S. Open

Serena Williams has what it takes to take her first Grand Slam title since winning Wimbledon in 2010 at this year’s US Open. She’s found her form again and she’s on a frenzy of match play. And that’s scary for the rest of the WTA. Here are a couple reasons why she’ll fend off the field at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center later this month.

She’s match fit. After playing for the Washington Kastles in World TeamTennis this summer and getting experience during the grass court circuit, including making the fourth round at Wimbledon, Serena showed that she has the desire to get back to the top. She lost her deserved No. 1 ranking, but pushed aside all doubts by taking the Stanford tournament.

There, she demolished Anastasia Rodionova 6-0, 6-0, followed by Maria Kirilenko in three sets to make the quarterfinals. A marquee match-up was next for Serena with Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova waiting for her on the other side of the net. Sharapova probably didn’t realize just what would happen next.

Despite media hype leading into the match and the prospects of a well-fought three-setter, Serena cranked her game up a notch, as she’s known to do.  Sharapova on the other hand, seemed to summon a strange deer-in-the-headlights mentality, waiting to get demolished by Serena’s truck-on-a-highway power. Needless to say, the American won against Sharapova, the world No. 5, 6-1, 6-3. What’s the message from that match? That the top five is exactly where Serena belongs even in just her third tournament back after a long injury lay-off.

And on paper, the tournament’s draw didn’t get any easier for the younger Williams sister. She next met surprise Wimbledon semifinalist Sabine Lisicki. That, too, could’ve been much more of a test for Serena, but it wasn’t. With intimidation as a possible factor – there’s no disregarding Serena’s 13 Grand Slam singles titles –, she pushed aside the big-serving German 6-1, 6-2.

Marion Bartoli was up next, begging for Serena to exact revenge for the 6-3, 7-6 drubbing she exacted on her in Wimbledon’s fourth round. And revenge is exactly what Serena tasted under the California heat. After a hard-fought first set, which Serena took 7-5, it all went downhill for Bartoli. Picking at what looked to be an injured hand and being picked apart by Serena’s strong serving, Williams rolled past the quirky Frenchwoman’s typically big game to take the set 6-1, the match and the championship title.

With the win came a serious ranking rise for Serena, who garnered 470 WTA ranking points and literally cut her ranking by more than half. After entering as the No. 169, she left as the world No. 79. Of course, that’s not where she belongs at all. If Serena keeps these results rolling off her racquet, she’ll find herself going deep into the Toronto draw. There, she has the opportunity to display her form further by playing No. 2 Kim Clijsters in a potential quarterfinal.

By handling the competition in her next couple events and staying healthy, she’s headed for a possible seeding come the US Open. Yes, these are all big ifs. But when it’s Serena Williams being talked about, and she’s playing at her nation’s own major, we all know that just about anything can – and will – probably happen.