Williams, Azarenka in line for U.S. Open final rematch

NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- No. 1-ranked Serena Williams could face three Top 10 players in her quest for a fourth title in the last six Grand Slam events.

Williams closed last year with wins at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open and added a second French Open championship this year in which she is 60-4 with eight titles overall.

The draw for the 2013 U.S. Open was released Thursday. To collect a fifth U.S. Open -- she won previously in 1999, 2002, '08 and '12 -- Williams would possibly face No. 3-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska in the semifinals.

Prior to that round, Williams could face Radwanska's sister Urszula or 15th-seeded Sloane Stephens in the fourth round and No. 8-seeded Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals

Agnieszka Radwanska's quarter includes fifth-seeded Li Na and ninth-seeded Jelena Jankovic.

World No. 2 Victoria Azarenka, who has handed Williams two of her four losses this year and won the Australian Open title after losing to Williams in the Open final in 2012, leads the lower half of the draw. Her potential quarterfinal opponent is No. 7-seeded Petra Kvitova.

The other quarter is interesting in that there is a possible quarterfinal singles pairing of the world No. 1-ranked doubles team of Sara Errani, seeded fourth in singles, and 10th-seeded Roberta Vinci. If the tournament goes to form, sixth-seeded Caroline Wozniacki would play that winner in the quarterfinals.

Two names missing from this year's U.S. Open are world No. 3 Maria Sharapova, who withdrew with a shoulder injury, and Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, who recently retired from tennis.

The U.S. Open begins Monday. The women's single final is scheduled for Sept. 8.