US Open: A brief glance

New Delhi: The 2013 US Open will be played on outdoor hard courts. It will be the 133rd edition of the US Open and the final fourth Grand Slam event of the year. It will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, and run from August 26 to Sept 9. Novak Djokovic has been named the top seed for the US Open with Rafael Nadal seeded second and defending champion Andy Murray third. The top seedings for the tournament have stayed faithful to the latest world rankings, with Roger Federer seeded seventh after dropping two places. It is the first time he has been seeded outside the top three at a Grand Slam tournament in the past decade. Federer, a five-time US Open champion, was the top seed last year. Djokovic has reached the semi-finals of the US Open in each of the last six years, making the final four times and winning it all in 2011. Serena Williams of US is the top seed with Victoria Azarenka seeded second. Maria Sharapova is third seed. Last year Djokovic and Samantha Stosur were the defending men's and women's champions respectively but both failed to defend their title. Stosur was narrowly defeated by World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-finals, and Djokovic was defeated in the final by Andy Murray. Murray became the first British man since Fred Perry in 1936 to win a Grand Slam singles title, and the first man to win both the US Open and the Olympic men's singles gold medal in the same year. In the women's draw, Serena Williams won her fourth US Open title, and first since 2008, by defeating Victoria Azarenka in the final.