2016 U.S. Open begins in New York

The 2016 U.S. Open begins Monday with Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic as top seeds going into the tournament.

With 12 Grand Slam titles already under his belt, Djokovic has had a bit of a rough summer, losing in the third round of Wimbledon and the first round in the Rio Olympics. He'll be challenged by Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal, and Juan Martin del Porto in Queens.

The women's competition will also be tight, with the unseeded Monica Puig — who won gold at the Rio Olympics — poised to make a run. Venus Williams, a two-time champion and the No. 6 seed, could also break into the finals. Still, FiveThirtyEight gives Serena Williams with a 55 percent chance of winning the tournament, which would be her 23rd Grand Slam victory and make her the winningest Grand Slam player in Open-era history. (The record is currently held by Steffi Graf, who won 22 Grand Slam titles.)

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For more U.S. Open predictions, read The New York Times' dark-horse picks or brush up on the major storylines of the tournament at Sports Illustrated.