The results of the final Grand Slam tennis tournament of the year at 2011 U.S. Open matter in different ways for each of the top eight women.  So what’s at stake for each of the players?

Caroline Wozniacki – She’s come in as the Number One seed, but is far from being/playing like the favorite after terrible results since Wimbledon and a recent coaching split from her father, her confidence will be tested from the first round.

Vera Zvonareva – She has final round points to defend, but also the game to beat anyone in the field and it all depends on the space between her ears…

Maria Sharapova – it’s all about her serve… full stop!  If she serves well, she could win the title, if not... she could lose anytime...

Victoria Azarenka – The real question is whether her body/mind will hold up and if so, can she break through and beat the best over seven matches in a Slam.

Petra Kvitova – She has the game to beat the best and “launched” her career with the Wimbledon title, but had poor results on the summer circuit so a strong result would solidify her stature heading into 2012.

Na Li – She already won the French Open and reached the Australian Open final so it’s been a career year, but she does play well on hard courts and so she’ll be dangerous if she can reach the later rounds again.

Francesca Schiavone – It’s all icing at this point, but she’s still hungry and given the wide open field, she definitely has a chance with the right draw…

Marion Bartoli – She has an unusual and deceptively strong game, when she’s playing well, so she’s definitely a threat to make a deep run in the tournament, but it’s been a long year and she hasn’t done well at the U.S. Open in the past