The crazy, unpredictable, world of women's tennis continued at SW19 where No 17 seed Elena Rybakina was crowned champion in July.
Neither of the two Wimbledon finalists had ever reached this stage of a Grand Slam before, with Rybakina becoming the latest outsider to secure a major title during the past couple of years.
Since the end of lockdown in 2020, four female Slam singles' winners have been seeded higher than 16, with two of them not even seeded at all.
One of these is defending champion Emma Radacanu who had to survive three qualifying matches in New York just to take her place in the opening round at Flushing Meadows.
The top two seeds at Wimbledon were both dispatched before the Last 16. The No 1 Iga Swiatek was sent packing in round three, while Anett Kontaveit didn't even get that far.
In fact, the last 21 female Grand Slam events have yielded 14 different champions, while the most recent seven US Open titles have been shared among six players.
And there's probably no reason why this recent, unusual, trend will not continue for a few more years at least.
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So which players stand out as having a better chance than most of lifting aloft the trophy in two weeks' time?
Simona Halep: No Grand Slam passes without the 30-year-old Romanian being talked about as a serious contender. The two-time Slam winner has won a brace of WTA Tour events this year, including the recent and prestigious Canadian Open in Toronto. She was a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last month.
Ons Jabeur: The world No 5 reached the Wimbledon final and was the clear favourite to beat Elena Rybakina in the title decider. She even took the opening set, so her defeat on Centre Court is probably still hurting. That said, she'll be totally focused in New York in the hope of claiming her maiden Grand Slam trophy.
Madison Keys: Possibly the best hope for an American victory on home soil. The 27-year-old is a former runner-up at Flushing Meadows and recently reached the last four in Cincinnati following impressive straight-sets victories over Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina and top seed Iga Swiatek.
Aryna Sabalenka: Travels to the Big Apple on the back of reaching the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. She was unable to compete at Wimbledon because players from Belarus were banned from taking part.
Iga Swiatek: Earlier this year the current world No 1 won 37 consecutive matches, which was the longest winning-streak on the WTA Tour in the 21st century. In the process she wrapped up six straight titles, culminating in the French Open at Roland Garros. Although the bubble has clearly burst, she remains a serious threat heading into the final Slam of 2022.
Click here to view Last 10 Years of women's singles form at US Open
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