I can't believe it's that time again the spotlight is on Flushing Meadows. The top players in the world will all converge on the Big Apple. There will be celebrities and fans in the stands for the last Grand Slam of the year. I am shaking with excitement, fast courts, and a tribute to the late, great Althea Gibson. In 1950, Gibson became the first black person to play in the U.S. National Championships, the tournament that became the U.S. Open. She won the event in 1957 and 1958 for two of her five Grand Slam singles titles.

Gibson also broke the colour barrier at Wimbledon, which she won in 1957 and 1958, and on the LPGA Tour. So this should give Venus and Serena Williams some inspiration to go out and fight. They will be challenged by world No. 1 Justine Henin who has dominated the women's tour with six titles. Henin also won her fourth French Open crown and third in a row at Roland Garros but for Flushing Meadow she is nursing a sore shoulder.

The Williams sisters have snagged the other two Grand Slams with fierce domination. There are only a couple of true champions who can go to that level that will have them carrying the trophy home. Watch out for the Serbian sensations, No. 5 ranked Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, who have been playing consistently. And don't forget the continuing Russian explosion led by current champion Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznestsova, Elena Dementieva and Anna Chakvetadze. These Russians could create some upsets deep into the draw.

'Watch out for the Serbian sensations, No. 5 ranked Ana Ivanovic and No. 3 Jelena Jankovic, who have been playing consistently'

On the men's side Roger Federer and Andy Roddick, last year's U.S. Open finalists, could meet earlier, maybe in the quarters. As Federer attempts to become the first man in the Open era to win four consecutive U.S. Open titles, the No. 1 seed could face the top two Americans in the field, #6 seed James Blake is playing well and could pose an early challenge. The Open could also offer a breakthrough for third-seeded Novak Djokovic, the 20-year-old Serb who beat Rafael Nadal and Federer in Montreal earlier this month. Djokovic and #2 seed Nadal are on the same side of the bracket and could meet in the semifinals.

Should the champions of the U.S. Open Series also win the US Open singles title, they would each earn $2.4m ($1.4m in U.S. Open prize money plus the U.S. Open Series bonus prize money of $1m). A lot is at stake and I can't wait for the action to begin and possibly witness history being made once again.