ESPN tennis analysts Cliff Drysdale, Chrissie Evert and Mary Joe Fernandez spoke with media Wednesday to discuss the upcoming US Open.  

On:  Does Serena Feel the Pressure of Winning Major No. 23 and breaking the streak of weeks at No. 1?

·         “The pressure… is going to be a lot less intense this year than it was last year; that she finally buckled during the semifinal.  I think she's always the clear favorite for every major.  Everybody knows that.  That's been the case for so long now.  And I think, this to me, anyway, this is hers.  It's always hers to win, but I think she's going to win it this year.” – Drysdale

On: The evolution of Serena the player.

“Somebody once asked her, do you remember winning your first US Open, she goes, ‘Yeah, I just went out and hit the ball.  I had no idea what I was doing.’  And I think that sums it up.  She had no strategy.  She just hit the ball.  That's the way she was taught by Richard; just hit the ball, and she made a lot more errors.  But she was a great athlete and she had the power.  But you know, as like now, she uses her head a lot more on the court.” - Evert

On: Is Rafa again the Rafa of old?

“I saw him in Rio and he looked really good.  He looked very hungry.  I felt like his forehand was better than it had been.   I do feel he played so much in the first few days that it caught up to him towards the end.  He had to play del Potro and Nishikori back‑to‑back after having the Gold Medal in doubles, and I think that took a lot out of him, and you saw the effects in Cincinnati.   But I have no doubt that he's going to be a huge challenger.” - Fernandez