The women who have reached the semi-finals of the 2010 U.S. Open are from the top seven seeds.
But without world No. 1 Serena Williams, out with a surgically repaired foot, Maria Sharapova, ousted in the round of 16 by Caroline Wozniacki, and Justine Henin, nursing a torn elbow tendon, there is a little showbiz sizzle missing from the Big Apple final four.
That clearly applies to the opening semi-final Friday between Wozniacki, the top seed in Serena's absence, and No. 7 Vera Zvonareva, a late-blooming 25-year-old who had been known as much for her on-court meltdowns as her impressive results.
It does not apply to the other semi-final, which has gone according to seeding with No. 2 Kim Clijsters facing No. 3 Venus Williams.
The two have played 12 times and are dead even at six wins apiece.
Clijsters, the defending champion, was a strong bet to do well again in 2010, especially after winning the WTA Tour event in Cincinnati three weeks before Flushing Meadows.
Williams is a different story, coming into the event not having played since an ineffectual performance in losing 6-2, 6-3 to lowly Tsvetana Pironkova in the Wimbledon quarter-finals as she tried to win her sixth title at the All England Club.
"Venus hasn't done so much since Wimbledon," said former rival Martina Hingis, 29. "Just coming out here and being in the semis is amazing."
Williams winced in apparent pain in her first round, but has looked like her normal long-limbed gazelle self in subsequent matches.
All logic indicates Clijsters is the favourite, that victories in her last four matches over Williams give her a huge psychological edge.
But Clijsters' serve has been vulnerable, and Williams, to help keep the points short and take pressure off her knee, has been hammering her service returns.
Two matches between the two are memorable for their eccentricity. Last year, Clijsters beat Williams in the round of 16 by the topsy-turvy score of 6-0, 0-6, 6-4.
But their 2005 U.S. Open quarter-final was much stranger. Williams was in control at 6-4, 4-2 before falling apart in a 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 loss. Afterward, she was out off character in making bizarre excuses.
"She started playing, like, really bad, and it totally threw me off," Williams said about Clijsters. "She started hitting, like, these really weird shots … just like it threw my game off. Next thing I knew, I was playing as bad as she was."
The Wozniacki-Zvonareva head-to-head is also even, at 2-2, but one loss for the Dane came last April when she had to retire with an ankle sprain. The after-effects of the injury affected her for several months, but since then she has been healthy and virtually unbeatable, going 22-1 at hard-court events this summer.
Since upsetting Sharapova on Monday, she has become the darling of New York, attending a fashion show and inviting the unctuous Donald Trump, proprietor of the Miss America pageant, to her courtside friends' seats.
Zvonareva, an anti-glamour opposite of the Stella McCartney dress-wearing Wozniacki, studies international economic relations in Moscow.
Fortified with the confidence of reaching this year's Wimbledon final (losing to Serena Williams), Zvonareva will hope her steady attack can find weaknesses in the wall-like defence of the 20-year-old Dane.
Williams-Clijsters will be much more about aggression and taking control of the real estate inside the 78-foot by 29-foot rectangle.
The one certainty is that Williams will be more flashy than Clijsters when it comes to apparel.
She will be wearing her sixth different dress from her personal EleVen line, designed to reflect the New York City vibe and well suited to her willowy 6-foot-1 frame.
There will be sparkles and accessories that would never be part of Clisjters' more utilitarian Fila outfits.
After her quarter-final win, the Belgian mom, 27, was asked if she could ever bring seven different dress designs to a tournament - one for every potential round - and wear them.
"No, I'm probably too superstitious to do that," she said.
So, Williams will win the fashion fight hands down. Who wins the backhands and forehands contest on the court will be much more intriguing.
PASSING SHOT
It is an annual gem of the WTA Tour calendar, the Bell Challenge in Quebec City, which starts on Saturday with the qualifying event.
The date change from late October to mid-September a few years ago was not good for outdoorsy Quebeckers who were not all ready for an indoor event while it was still summertime. But being right after the U.S. Open has helped draw a good player field for the $220,000 (U.S.) tournament, which this year features Marion Bartoli, Aravane Rezai, Lucie Safarova and 2009 U.S. Open phenom Melanie Oudin.
TYPICALLY NEW YORK
The U.S. Open annually dovetails with the first few days of the Toronto International Film Festival and flights from New York to Toronto inevitably carry some well-known celebrities.
In recent years, a Canadian reporter returning to Toronto has shared space on flights with rocker Tommy Lee, actress Jennifer Garner and actor Ethan Hawke.
Needless to say these stars are nowhere to be seen in the customs lines upon arrival, having been whisked away from the other travellers by TIFF personnel.
BY THE NUMBERS
24.26
Percentage of correct line-call video challenges by female singles players.
30.11
Percentage of correct line-call video challenges by male singles players.
PREVIEW
The men get the day off on Friday as they gear up for the back-to-back semi-finals and final on Saturday and Sunday. This leaves Friday for the men's doubles final and the two women's semi-finals.
The first afternoon semi-final will feature Wimbledon runner-up Vera Zvonareva versus the 2009 U.S. Open finalist, Caroline Wozniacki, left. That is the warm-up act for the highly-anticipated semi-final between Kim Clijsters and Venus Williams, both of whom have won the title at Flushing Meadows twice.
HE SAID IT
"They say it more when I'm not there, apparently when they see me on TV."
Roger Federer on the attempts by his 13-month old twin daughters , Charlene and Myla, to say papa.