US Open Men's Preview

With the last of the 4 majors coming up, no one player has dominated so far. While Nadal has definitely had been the best among the "big four", Djokovic has been pretty impressive too. Andy Murray is having a roller-coaster form, after facing a steady decline since his victory at SW19. And regarding Federer, age is surely catching up with him. But nevertheless, this final grandslam of the year is up for holds, and it is going to be an exciting fortnight at the flushing meadows.

The Favourites:

Rafael Nadal : His form has been extreme. While his astronishing record of 50 odd wins with only 3 losses is quite un-believable, it is also quite surprising that one of those losses came in wimbledon first round against a below-100 ranked player. Nevertheless, he has established himself as one of the favourites, after winning back-to-back masters 1000 titles at cincinnati and montreal. He will be hopeful to shed the tag of "only clay player" ; which has been assigned to him by many tennis fans, even though he has won 2 grand slam and quite a few no of titles in hard courts. His draw is relatively easier, except that he can run into old-rival Federer in quarters.

Novak Djokovic : If not for Nadal’s resurgence in form, he would have probably grabbed a few more titles under his belt. He had a quite a reasonable year, but below standards w.r.t Djokovic of 2011. But nevertheless, he produces his best tennis at hard courts, and he, in my opinion, has a very good chance of making it through. He does have a tough draw, with possible clashes with Del-Potro and Murray in the semi-finals, but his mental strength is quite un-believable, and to overcome him will be quite a challenge indeed.

Andy Murray : Except for a wimbledon victory and an Australian open final, he has had a quite year. But the defending champion would like to defend his title, which if he defends, will be a well-earned one, considering that he has a very tough draw. But the Scot has a good chance, nevertheless. It will be intresting to see as to how he handles the pressure of being a defending champion.

The Dark Horses

Juan Martin Del Potro: The young prodigy is having a successful return to the tennis arena, after suffering from a severe wrist injury. Currently ranked 6th, he has already showed a glimpse of his talent by winning the 2009 US Open. Though he could not do much after that, he is definitely back into contention, especially after seeing the way he played Djokovic in the Wimbledon semi finals. That match definitely took toll on Djokovic, who lost to Murray in straight sets in the final. He is drawn to face Djokovic in the quarter finals, which would definitely be one of the matches to look out( assuming they reach there).

Roger Federer : I feel bad to consider him as a dark horse, rather than a favourite. But the facts surely prove that he is having a steady decline. But he is no pushover. He is still one of the best players around, beating players 10 years below him with ease. Though he is in the same quarter as of his former-nemisis Nadal, if it is his day, no one can stop him.