Thursday, August 22, 2013

Heating up for the U.S. Open


Why is it that draws always seem to turn out the same way - like with Federer and Nadal once again ending up in the same quarter?  It has happened for Indian Wells, Wimbledon, Cincinnati and now the U.S. Open.  Isn't it supposed to be a random draw?  And why is it that poor Ryan Harrison always ends up with the worst possible early rounds in majors?  At least he got someone different than Djokovic this time, though I don't think he would be any happier getting Nadal for a change (come on, Ryan - cause a huge upset!).  Sure would have loved to see Federer end up in Ferrer's quarter but no such luck.  The fact of the matter is, though, that when Roger is healthy and playing well, it really doesn't matter what his draw is.  The question is, will his back hold out and has he finally found the form he has been looking for this year.  His early rounds hopefully shouldn't be a problem and it would be quite surprising for him not to reach the quarterfinal.  We will see if anyone like Verdasco or Isner can cause Nadal any problems.

Though with Nadal's recent form he may seem like the heavy favorite,  I could see many of the top guys having a good chance.  For the ones who have previously won majors they know what it takes to get it done, so whether they have recently been winning a lot of matches or not doesn't necessarily make a difference.  Of course that would include Djokovic, Murray, Federer, Nadal, and even Del Potro.  The curiosity really starts to get to me as we come to the cusp of a grand slam starting and it's no different here.  Hopefully Fed will come in with good form that he can maintain to have an easy run to the second week.

It's too bad that Maria Sharapova won't be able to participate, with her shoulder once again causing her problems.  Certainly Serena is the favorite going in.  It seems like in the women's game there always tend to be upsets all across the board, though, so I don't even bother to try to decide what I think is going to happen.  I would enjoy seeing a a new women's champion this time around, though.

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