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Although perceived by some to lack the history and tradition surrounding Wimbledon and the French Open, the inaugural US Open, then known as the United States National Championships, was staged way back in 1881 on the grass courts of the Newport Casino in Rhode Island.

Since then, the tournament has enjoyed a further three homes and two surface changes, taking in the Westside Tennis Club, the Germantown Cricket Club in Philadelphia before finally settling in its current locale, the grandiose USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows in 1978.

Early years saw an American dominance of the tournament, with only six players from outside the US capturing the title during the amateur era. This dominance continued as the Open Era was ushered in, with Billie Jean King, Tracy Austin and Martina Navratilova all victorious on multiple occasions.

However, none were more dominant than Chris Evert. Between 1975 and 1982, the all-time great triumphed in New York on a staggering six occasions, setting an Open Era record that was not equaled until Serena Williams did so in 2014.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the honor roll was given a cosmopolitan makeover, as Gabriela Sabatini, Monica Seles, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis were among those crowned, while recent years have seen 21st century stars such as Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters follow in their footsteps. Navratilova has the Open Era doubles record with nine titles.

The draws were announced today for the 2015 US Open, and the biggest question on everyone’s lips was who would be thrown in the path of Serena Williams as she seeks to complete a calendar Grand Slam. Here’s a break-down of the women’s draw:
First-round matches

Serena Williams, who is also the reigning champion at the tournament, will play 86th-ranked Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia in the first round; this will be the first meeting between the pair. She is in the same half as Maria Sharapova, which would mean the two will likely face off in the semifinal.
Second seed Simona Halep will play New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic in their first round match. Although the two have never faced off in singles, they previously played a women’s doubles match at the Moorilla International Doubles event in Hobart, New Zealand. Erakovic and doubles partner Kai-Chen Chang won that match 6-2, 6-4.

Third seed Sharapova will play Daria Gavrilova in round 1. The two previously met at the semifinals of the 2015 Rome Masters, which Sharapova won 7-5, 6-3. They also played at the Miami Masters this year, a hard surface like the US Open, with Gavrilova taking victory 7-6(4) 6-3.
Serena Williams’ quarter is a difficult one at the US Open – among others in that quarter include sister Venus, Agnieszka Radwanska, Belinda Bencic, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens and Karolina Pliskova.
Halep’s quarter includes Lucie Safarova, Victoria Azarenka and Angelique Kerber. Azarenka is widely considered the only woman who can seriously challenge Serena, and the two could meet in the final if they win their first six matches.
Sharapova is on course to face Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals, if she gets by compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova in Round 3.
Serena, meanwhile, is likely to face compatriot Sloane Stephens in round 3, with Swiss Belinda Bencic due to play Venus in the same round. As the sisters are in the same quarter, there is no chance of a Williams-Williams final.
Likely women’s quarterfinals:
Serena Williams vs Karolina Pliskova/Belinda Bencic
Maria Sharapova vs Ana Ivanovic
Petra Kvitova vs Caroline Wozniacki
Simona Halep vs Lucie Safarova/Victoria Azarenka
Likely semifinals:
Serena vs Sharapova
Kvitova vs Halep/Azarenka

This year's U.S. Open of will be dominated by one storyline as long as it remains relevant: Serena Williams' drive to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf accomplished the feat in 1988. With that as the backdrop, here are a few other things to look forward to at the tournament:

Best first-round match: Coco Vandeweghe will play Sloane Stephens in an All-American clash that seems like a perfect U.S. Open kickoff. Vandeweghe had a good Wimbledon, while Stephens won the first tournament of her entire career a few weeks ago in Washington D.C. It's a good matchup of Vandeweghe's power against Stephens' guile. The other intriguing opener pits No. 18 seed Andre Petkovic versus Caroline Garcia in a clash of hard hitters. Garcia, a talented 21-year-old from France, has problems with consistency. But at Cincinnati last week, she had back-to-back wins against Sabine Lisicki and No. 4 Petra Kvitova.

Luck of the draw: Sara Errani, seeded No. 16, could make it all the way to the quarterfinals by beating only qualifiers. It's a long shot, as Samantha Stosur will likely be awaiting in the third round, but who knows?

Favorite most ripe for the picking: Maria Sharapova hasn't played since Wimbledon. She's seeded No. 3 and has a tough first round in energetic Russian-born, 21-year old Aussie Daria Gavrilova -- who already has a win against Sharapova. Ana Konjuh, another talented youngster, may await the winner in the second round.

Favorite best positioned to sail: Simona Halep should thank her lucky stars that she snagged that precious No. 2 ranking at the 11th hour. Halep wouldn't play a top 15 seed until a potential showing against No. 14 seed Timea Bacsinszky in the fourth round.

Cinderella candidate: Garbine Muguruza made it to the Wimbledon final, and while she hasn't done much since then, she prefers hard courts. The No. 9 seed is still relatively unknown in the U.S., but she's already played Williams four times at majors and has a French Open win against her.

American with the friendliest path: Curiously, there isn't a single U.S. player who has a conspicuously good draw. The American contenders are clustered up in that first quarter below Serena; the rest of the American fleet may have winnable openers, but harsh prospects not long thereafter.

Fish out of water: Last year, Eugenie Bouchard entered the US Open as the recent Wimbledon runner-up and with a calendar-year "semifinals Grand Slam" at stake. This year, she survived the first round at just one major, the Australian Open. Bouchard plays Alison Riske of the U.S. in the first round.

Most likely to hit the reset button: Caroline Wozniacki, seeded No. 4, hasn't won a match in her past three tournaments, including the big meetings in Toronto and Cincinnati. But this is the time of year when she traditionally pulls it together. Wozniacki was the losing US Open finalist last year, and she's in the third quarter, one that could blow open, this season.

Hard luck of the draw: The silver lining on Serena's draw is that she may not have to meet sister Venus in the quarterfinals. That's because Venus' own draw is a tough one with Monica Puig in the opener and a possible date with Roger's Cup champ and No. 12 seed Belinda Bencic in the fourth round. Serena's journey won't be a cakewalk, either. Her path has fellow countrywomen No. 28 Sloane Stephens and No. 19 Madison Keys awaiting. Also in that quarter: hard-hitting Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Serena's potential second-round opponent), Radwanska and No. 29 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, a talented underachiever who's has a hot hand lately.