Men's Singles:For the first time in his career, Rafael Nadal will be the top seed in a grand slam event. The Spaniard has had an amazing year winning the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal. Although he has never made it past the quarterfinals in the US Open, he is already the favorite to win the title. He won 38 of his last 39 matches. Looking at his draw, the path is quite smooth until the quarterfinals where he can face either David Nalbandian or James Blake. He could also face dangerous opponents like Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro and Gilles Simon, who collectively won 4 titles in the US Open series this summer.
Roger Federer, now ranked no. 2 after a staggering 237 weeks at the top, will find himself in an unfamiliar place - the bottom half of the draw. He has been the top seed of the grand slams since the 2004 French Open. He has also looking to salvage this season by winning his fifth consecutive US Open title. Federer could meet Radek Stepanek (who beat him in the QFs of the Rome Masters this year) in the third round and Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals.
So in which draw does Novak Djokovic land in?
Djokovic, the world no. 3 is in perhaps the most difficult quarter of the draw. His opening match will be against Wimbledon quarterfinalist Arnaud Clement. In the fourth round, he could have the no. 19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (runner-up to Djokovic in this year's Autralian Open) or no. 15 Tommy Robredo. He could also face the 2000 and 2003 US Open champions Marat Safin and Andy Roddick respectively in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he could face Federer.
Women's Singles:
An all-Williams final like that in Wimbledon is not possible as the sisters could face in the quartfinals. Just like last year, the balance of players in the women's draw is very much uneven. Top seed and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic and US Open series winner Dinara Safina could also face in the quarterfinals and meet either one of the Williams sisters in the semifinal of the top half.
In the bottom half, Jelena Jankovic has a much smoother road to the semifinals. She could meet no. 14 Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round and meet either Vera Zvonareva, Marion Bartoli or Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. In the other bottom quarter, Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva could meet 2004 US Open champ and 2007 runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.
The Round-up:
As always, the men's singles event is always very exciting. Nadal just made it to the fourth round last year but given his current form, he is likely to surpass that and even make it to the finals at least. Federer has had a year to forget only winning two small titles and dropping down to the no. 2 ranking. He has won at least one grand slam since 2003. Djokovic is considered by many to be the best hardcourt player today so he has a lot to prove. With a good result, it could also give him enough momentum to eventually overtake Federer by the end of the season. Dark horses for the title are Murray and Del Potro. Murray won over the Serb in Cincinnati to capture his first Masters series title. He also made it to the semifinals at the Rogers Masters. Del Potro meanwhile is in a 19-match winning streak (second only to Nadal's 32) which includes 2 US Open series titles.
Currently, there is no dominant force in the WTA tour. World no.1 Ana Ivanovic has been inconsistent since winning at Roland Garros and clinching the top ranking. She was also forced to pull-out the Olympics due to her inflammed thumb. Jelena Jankovic became no. 1 last week but immediately lost it after a quarterfinal loss at the Olympic Games. She also has yet to reach a grand slam final. As was the case for the last few WTA tournaments, we could have a new no. 1 by the end of the US Open.
Roger Federer, now ranked no. 2 after a staggering 237 weeks at the top, will find himself in an unfamiliar place - the bottom half of the draw. He has been the top seed of the grand slams since the 2004 French Open. He has also looking to salvage this season by winning his fifth consecutive US Open title. Federer could meet Radek Stepanek (who beat him in the QFs of the Rome Masters this year) in the third round and Nikolay Davydenko in the quarterfinals.
So in which draw does Novak Djokovic land in?
Djokovic, the world no. 3 is in perhaps the most difficult quarter of the draw. His opening match will be against Wimbledon quarterfinalist Arnaud Clement. In the fourth round, he could have the no. 19 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (runner-up to Djokovic in this year's Autralian Open) or no. 15 Tommy Robredo. He could also face the 2000 and 2003 US Open champions Marat Safin and Andy Roddick respectively in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he could face Federer.
Women's Singles:
An all-Williams final like that in Wimbledon is not possible as the sisters could face in the quartfinals. Just like last year, the balance of players in the women's draw is very much uneven. Top seed and French Open champion Ana Ivanovic and US Open series winner Dinara Safina could also face in the quarterfinals and meet either one of the Williams sisters in the semifinal of the top half.
In the bottom half, Jelena Jankovic has a much smoother road to the semifinals. She could meet no. 14 Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round and meet either Vera Zvonareva, Marion Bartoli or Lindsay Davenport in the quarterfinals. In the other bottom quarter, Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva could meet 2004 US Open champ and 2007 runner-up Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarterfinals.
The Round-up:
As always, the men's singles event is always very exciting. Nadal just made it to the fourth round last year but given his current form, he is likely to surpass that and even make it to the finals at least. Federer has had a year to forget only winning two small titles and dropping down to the no. 2 ranking. He has won at least one grand slam since 2003. Djokovic is considered by many to be the best hardcourt player today so he has a lot to prove. With a good result, it could also give him enough momentum to eventually overtake Federer by the end of the season. Dark horses for the title are Murray and Del Potro. Murray won over the Serb in Cincinnati to capture his first Masters series title. He also made it to the semifinals at the Rogers Masters. Del Potro meanwhile is in a 19-match winning streak (second only to Nadal's 32) which includes 2 US Open series titles.
Currently, there is no dominant force in the WTA tour. World no.1 Ana Ivanovic has been inconsistent since winning at Roland Garros and clinching the top ranking. She was also forced to pull-out the Olympics due to her inflammed thumb. Jelena Jankovic became no. 1 last week but immediately lost it after a quarterfinal loss at the Olympic Games. She also has yet to reach a grand slam final. As was the case for the last few WTA tournaments, we could have a new no. 1 by the end of the US Open.
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