The hyper-active circus of broadcasters and journalists are descending on North America as the second half of the tennis season gets underway. The crazed interest surrounding the Grand Slams so far in 2011 makes it a certainty that all the build-up to the US Open will be keenly observed. Can Federer regain the form which brought him 5 titles in New York? Or will Djokovic's victory at Wimbledon be just a starting block in his creation of an Empire?
Already Mardy Fish has taken the Atlanta Tennis Championship title and on Sunday 31st July the Farmers Classic will be decided. They may not feature many of the world's top 10 but we are only a week away from the Montreal Masters where everyone, including the defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal, will be out in force.
Nadal on his Holiday
Rafa has had his first chance for some real time off over the past few weeks. From the start of March there have been umpteen Masters tournaments and then the French Open and Wimbledon. For all the players it has been a tough ride. Nadal has been spotted beaching with his girlfriend Maria Perello, a favourite past-time for all tennis players.
He has also been out playing rounds of charity golf at Mallorca in the Torneo Renault Llucmajora. It's well documented that he is a keen admirer of golfing star Rory McIlroy and perhaps it's all practise before he rings up with a challenge.
Nadal's Strong US Campaign in 2010
Nadal took exactly the same time off last year in preparation for what was to be a fantastic US Open Series for the Spaniard. Maybe he will have wished to have got slightly further in the Canadian and Cincinnati Masters, falling in the Semi and Quarter Finals respectively, but it proved good progress.
He only dropped the one set in becoming the US Open champion, displaying near perfect hard-court tennis. Nadal beat six European players and also six players inside the world's top 50. In the final he dispatched Novak Djokovic and with it completed a career Grand Slam, only the seventh man in history to do so.
Nadal's Biggest Challengers
Djokovic, having had the exceptional year he has, especially seeing as he won at Wimbledon, is favourite for the US Open title. He has grabbed the no.1 ranking from Nadal and definitely has the mental edge coming into Flushing Meadows. However the break from competitive tennis may have disrupted his rhythm and it will be interesting to see how he looks when he returns to action.
Federer and Murray have both played very well at the US Open over previous years. Murray feels far more comfortable on this surface than any other, shown by the way he has reached three Grand Slam finals split between the US and Australian Opens. As for Federer, five titles in New York prove him to be the expert when it comes to winning, and he will be desperately looking for his sixth to overtake Jimmy Connors and Pete Sampras as outright leader.
Other than these four, perhaps we should consider 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro. He had a troubled 2010 with a severe wrist injury but is now back and fit. He is struggling to string significant results together but with still a month to go till the US Open, expect him to be tip top when it arrives. Mardy fish as well will be an key man in deciding who wins the trophy. He has risen to a career high of world no.9 and is looking good to also win the Farmers Classic in Los Angeles.
Thomas Drake - Thomas Drake writes for www.centre-court-tennis.com and frequently writes for the Warwick University newspaper as well as other ...
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