Roger Federer. He is the epitome of gracefulness, confidence, and everything that is right in not only the game of tennis but sports in general. After Rafael Nadal's remarkable 2008 season that helped him overthrow the king of tennis with the #1 ranking, Roger shut the door on the 2008 season with his 13th major title.
In 2008 Rafael Nadal won his 5th consecutive French Open, running his career undefeated streak to 30-0 on the red clay in Paris. His encore? He captured Federer's reign over Wimbledon with an epic 5 set match and with it the #1 ranking in men's tennis which Roger had previously had a stranglehold on for the some time.
However, Roger rose to the occasion in Flushing Meadows and won the 2008 US Open over the strong Scot Andy Murray. Only 4 months later, Roger's hopes were dashed again by an 5th set meltdown against Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open. Despite his terrible play in the deciding set, I'd argue that it was the best loss of Roger's career. Somewhere in between his loss in Melbourne and his workouts up until Paris, something clicked. He pulled out a dramatic upset against Rafael Nadal on clay in Madrid just a week before the French Open.
Then, it all changed. Coupled with the surprising upset of Nadal in the 4th round and Federer's dominance in the tennis world over everyone except Rafa, Roger pulled out the career slam on the red clay and won his 14th Grand Slam title tying Pete Sampras for most all time. However, Pete never won the French.
Without Rafa in Wimbledon because of knee problems, Roger resumed his reign over tennis with an even more epic 16-14 5th set against Andy Roddick for the Championship.
If anyone bets against Roger, I have one word...foolish. Yet, he will face quite possibly the deepest men's field in a major ever.
Andy Murray, taking advantage of Rafa's injury leave, surpassed him in the rankings and will look to improve on last year's finish, which would mean winning the tournament. As weird as it sounds, Rafa may be the dark horse of the top men's players since he hasn't played too much recently but when he's on his game, we are all aware of the type of tennis he can play.
Rounding out the top players are Novak Djokovic, Andy Roddick, Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, and Nikolay Davydenko. Andy Roddick will not only be the crowd favorite but the sentimental favorite after his crushing defeat in London at the hands of Roger.
My dark horse pick: Gael Monfils. He's probably the best athlete in the game, and intimidates opponents with his frizzy 'fro and powerful physique. Although I think two tall Americans have very good shots at making a surprise run. The 6'6" Sam Querrey has played a lot of tennis this summer and the 6'9" John Isner will both benefit from the quick courts exaggerating the movement and speed of their serves. Isner could have a very intriguing matchup in the 3rd round with Andy Roddick.
As for the women, their is only one name that resonates in the game. Williams. Both Serena and Venus have fully exercised their power within the women's game and although Serena is still #2 in the world she has won 2 majors this year to Dinara Safina's big fat 0 despite her #1 ranking. I fully expect either one of them to take home the trophy.
Yet as good as the Williams sisters have been lately, they will not succeed unchallenged. Kim Clijsters seems to have regained her form that made her a #1 player after a brief 2 year retirement. That sounds Brett Favre esque? Wait, his were only like 4 months.
AHH MAN. I was gonna make this a 100% Favre-Free blog. Guess I failed. Better luck next time.
Along with Clijsters, Maria Sharapova seems primed for a deep run into a major after her leave of absence because of injury. But if anyone is playing great tennis in the women's game right now, it's Elena Dementieva. She has improved her Achille's heel, her serve, and could finally get over the hump and win a major.
All in all, it appears the next fortnight at Flushing Meadows should be flush with excitement.
Until tomorrow...Adios Amigos.
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