US Open

After Nadal came home with the Olympic Gold, he was on his way to Flushing, NY for the US Open - another major tennis tourney. Going into it, Nadal hopes to defeat arch nemesis Roger Federer (still within reach of Number 1) one more time on a large scale. So here are some predictions about current the Men's singles draws:

First Draw - Nadal's competition does not look too stiff. The toughest competition would have to be Blake or Nalbandian. There are quite a few other solid players in the draw including Monfils, Karlovic, and Berdych. Even the junior American champion Donald Young - a bright light for American tennis. Unfortunately, he faces Blake in the first round. Nadal is on a hot streak - his movement on the court is impeccable, his strokes have a ridiculous amount of top-spin for most other players to handle, and a strong mental game. In this draw - Nadal (probably over Blake, I don't believe there will be any major upsets in this bracket)

Second Draw - Key players - David Ferrer, JM del Potro, Wawrinka, F. Lopez, and Murray. This bracket is more likely for a major upset because the players are equally matched. Already there has been one upset - 29th seed Juan Monaco falls to Japan's Kei Nishikori. I am looking forward to see Ferrer and Murray battle it out. Murray's style is rather intriguing as he has a great baseline game versus Ferrer. If there is any sort of upset it will be Feliciano Lopez massacring the draw and crushing Murray or Ferrer. Here is last year's Lopez vs. Federer (of course Roger has some amazing shots, but there is a lot of potential for Lopez): In this draw - F. Lopez or Murray



Third Draw: Djokovic, Roddick, Kiefer, Tsonga...Djokovic will cruise by this bracket hands down. Roddick only has a strong serve compared to Djokovic's all around game (including strong net play). There really is not much to say about this draw...Novak FTW - Here are some clips from the Dubai tournament last year: Djokovic vs. Roddick (even though Djokovic lost, I doubt he will during the US Open)



Fourth and Final: Federer vs. Davydenko or Gasquet. You see, I don't really believe in upsets too much unless its college basketball where the teams play erratically. Nothing funky is going down in this draw, and my thoughts are Federer winning this bracket easy peezy.


I will try to give some more info later... so here is a list of potential winners:
Nadal, Federer, Murray, F. Lopez, Blake, and of course Djokovic.

My bets are on Federer.