Last spring, junior Chelsey Gullickson walked out of the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens as the women’s singles NCAA champion. Tonight, she faces a decidedly bigger challenge: the No. 1 seed in women’s singles, Caroline Wozniacki, and the 22,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium in the first round of the US Open.

“I’m going to be on Arthur Ashe. This is something that I feel everyone looks forward to and everyone wishes that they could do,” Gullickson said. “I’m going to go out there and have fun and play my game and enjoy the experience.”

▲ Chelsey Gullickson is set for her match against a childhood opponent — No. 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki.

The match tonight comes after a busy week for Gullickson, including competition at the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Conn.

A bout with strep throat over the weekend certainly didn’t improve the pressure on Gullickson, who will be fighting an uphill battle tonight in her clash with Wozniacki. Ranked as the world’s No. 2 player, Wozniacki garnered the top spot in the US Open draw after the withdrawal of Serena Williams — ranked as the world’s top women’s player.

But Gullickson says she’s looking forward to her admittedly difficult draw.

“Some people say it sucks getting the No. 1 seed in the first round, but honestly I’m super-excited about it,” she said. “I was talking to my coach and he [asked], ‘Who would you want to play: Wozniacki, center court, night match or someone ranked 100 on the back courts?’ and I was like, ‘Of course Wozniacki.’”

Georgia’s women’s head coach Jeff Wallace also remains confident in Gullickson despite the looming threat of Wozniacki.

“It’s a complete opportunity. [She has] nothing to lose and everything to gain,” he said. “She’s playing right now the best player in the world, so it’s a great measuring stick to see where you’re at with your game.”

This won’t be the first time Gullickson and Wozniacki have faced off, however.

“I grew up playing junior tennis with her, and we played once when we were 13 or 14,” Gullickson said.

But Gullickson doesn’t expect that her previous duel with Wozniacki will have much bearing on tonight’s match.

“I haven’t played her in a few years. The only thing I know is from watching her on TV,” she said. “I’m going to have to stay focused every point and not get frustrated.”

Both Gullickson and Wozniacki enter Tuesday’s match having spent their last week competing in the Pilot Pen tournament. But while Wozniacki won the tournament on Saturday, Gullickson endured a tough first-round loss on Aug. 21, losing in three sets to Russian Elena Vesnina.

“I had a match point … It was a disappointing match because it was so close and it would have been a great win,” Gullickson said. “But if anything it gave me more confidence.”

Wallace said he was proud of her performance.

“She played a player that’s top 50 in the world toe-to-toe,” Wallace said.

Gullickson’s Open experience won’t just come in the singles draw. She will also join her sister, Carly, in women’s doubles.

Gullickson believes that Carly, who won the 2009 US Open mixed doubles event, will provide a valuable compliment to her tennis skills.

“She has a really great serve,” Gullickson said. “The way that she thinks during doubles is unbelievable. Being able to play with her and having her at the net to tell me what to do compliments me because I stay in the backcourt.”

Though the Gullickson sisters hadn’t competed together in almost two years before this summer, they reached the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Financial Group women’s doubles event earlier this month.

“They lost to one of the top teams in the world,” Wallace said. “[Carly] has a lot of great skills on the doubles court and just really knows how to play the game. I think that she’s helped Chelsey develop her doubles game a lot.”

The Gullickson sisters open their doubles play against Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci of Italy. Thanks to the draw, if both their pairs remain undefeated, Gullickson and Wozniacki could face off again as early as the third round.

Gullickson’s appearances this summer and fall come as a part of a semester she’s taking off from Georgia. This academic break comes with support from Wallace and the rest of her Bulldog teammates.

“The NCAA singles title should be a huge stepping stone in an athlete’s career. Once that happens, you’re going to get a lot of opportunities to play wildcards and things of that nature,” Wallace said. “She’s been the No. 1 player for two straight years, so you would think that she would come back and be one of the very top players.”

Although she hasn’t made a decision yet, Gullickson is leaning toward returning to Georgia in the spring. But whether she returns or not, Gullickson sees this semester as an opportunity to enhance her game.

“Taking off the fall is just for me to put 100 percent into tennis and have no distractions on the side,” she said. “The biggest thing is just having a lot of matches … and having fun.”