US OPEN 2015: Tournament at a glance

A look at the U.S. Open, the year's last Grand Slam tennis tournament:

Surface: Hard courts.

Site: USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York.

Schedule: The 14-day tournament begins Monday. The women's singles final is Saturday, Sept. 12; the men's singles final is Sunday, Sept. 13. The tournament returns to a planned Sunday finish; in 2013 and 2014, play was scheduled to end on a Monday; each of the five years before that, 2008-12, rain pushed back the men's final from Sunday to Monday.

2014 Men's Singles Champion: Marin Cilic of Croatia.

2014 Women's Singles Champion: Serena Williams of the United States.

Last Year: Cilic beat Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in a matchup of first-time major finalists. Williams defeated good friend Caroline Wozniacki 6-3, 6-3 for her third consecutive U.S. Open championship, sixth overall, and 18th Grand Slam singles title. She has since won three more majors, raising her total to 21.

Key Statistic I: 1988 - The last time a tennis player (Steffi Graf) won all four major tennis tournaments in the same season to complete a Grand Slam, something Williams can do if she adds the U.S. Open title to the ones she won at the Australian Open in January, French Open in June, and Wimbledon in July.

Key Statistic II: 22 - Graf's professional-era record of career Grand Slam singles titles, a total Williams can equal at Flushing Meadows.

Key Statistic III: 4 - Williams can become the first woman since Chris Evert in 1975-78 to win four consecutive U.S. Opens.

Prize Money: Total payout to players is a tournament-record $42.3 million, a roughly 10 percent jump from $38.3 million last year. The men's and women's singles champions each receive $3.3 million, up from $3 million in 2014.

Online: www.usopen.org