Hopefully Hurricane Irene has passed New York City and US Open will begin as scheduled this morning. Here are the current men’s seeding:
1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia
2. Rafael Nadal, Spain
3. Roger Federer, Switzerland
4. Andy Murray, Great Britain
5. David Ferrer, Spain
6. Robin Soderling, Sweden
7. Gael Monfils, France
8. Mardy Fish, United States
9. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic
10. Nicolas Almagro, Spain
11. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France
12. Gilles Simon, France
13. Richard Gasquet, France
14. Stanislas Wawrinka, Switzerland
15. Viktor Troicki, Serbia
16. Mikhail Youzhny, Russia
17. Jurgen Melzer, Austria
18. Juan Martin Del Potro, Argentina
19. Fernando Verdasco, Spain
20. Janko Tipsarevic, Serbia
21. Andy Roddick, United States
22. Alexandr Dolgopolov, Ukraine
23. Radek Stepanek, Czech Republic
24. Juan Ignacio Chela, Argentina
25. Feliciano Lopez, Spain
26. Florian Mayer, Germany
27. Marin Cilic, Croatia
28. John Isner, United States
29. Michael Llodra, France
30. Ivan Ljubicic, Croatia
31. Marcel Granollers, Spain
32. Ivan Dodig, Croatia
There are only a few guys that can win this tournament and here they are:
Although Novak Djokovic has only lost two matches all year, he is not invincible as we saw last week in Cincinnati when he had to retire. Djokovic claimed that his right shoulder was sore, but what I saw was a guy who looked like he was going to pass out from the heat and humidity. Djokovic is much better conditioned this year, but if the temperatures rise, he is vulnerable
Rafael Nadal is always a contender, but he appeared to be pretty beat up in Cincinnati. He had two of his fingers taped up and was not at the top of his game. The big question is, is he healty? His style of play is so grinding that two weeks on the hard courts could break him down; but he is the current champ so don’t count him out.
Roger Federer is in good form and he is always a threat at the Open. Can the greatest champ of all time add another major?
Andy Murray looked terrific in Cincinnati while defeating Novak Djokovic. If this guy could just keep his mind on the game rather than talking to himself, he has a great chance. I predict that Murray will break through and win his first major.
Mardy Fish is having a great season and if he is ever going to do it, the time is now. He is the top seeded American, surpassing Andy Roddick, and he is playing his best tennis ever. His conditioning is the best that it has ever been and he is constantly attacking. He has an outside chance.
Tomas Berdych has a big game with a big serve. He always seems to get close, but then fades right at the end. He needs to prove that he can finish.
Juan Martin Del Potro has won the Open before, so must consider him a contender. He has had an injury prone season and the big question is whether he is healthy enough to compete for two week.
Robin Soderling has a great all around game, but like Berdych, he just can’t seem to finish.
There are my top picks and believe that this is the year that Murray will break through.
Enjoy the tournament.