The US Open are about to start and I think this is going to be a very exciting tournament.
The Men’s Game
On the men’s side Rafael Nadal is not going to be competing in the event because of continued problems with his knees. He has been out for a while now and the stories I am hearing about his injury are not good. For those of you interested in more detailed information on that check out this story: Rafa Nadal Injury Story
To Me Roger Federer Is The Clear Favorite To Win This Year’s US Open!
Roger won Wimbledon and has been playing phenomenal Tennis all summer except for the Olympic finals where he lost in straight sets to Andy Murray. He recently won the Cincinnati masters without losing a set and currently holds the number 1 ranking in the world.
Check Out Roger In Vintage Form In Cincinnati
Additionally the hardcourts at the US Open suit his game extremely well and not having Nadal around gives Roger an extra boost of confidence in my opinion. All of that makes him the clear favorite to me.
Andy Murray won the Gold medal at the Olympics with a convincing victory over Roger Federer and Andy seems to get closer and closer to winning a Grand Slam title. Ivan Lendl’s positive influence is obvious and his game has certainly evolved recently. He plays a bit more aggressive and seems to be tougher mentally.
Check Out Murray In An Interview After Winning The Olympics
Murray is of course super motivated to finally win his first Grand Slam title this time around. He didn’t do well at the last two masters events in Cincinnati and Toronto but I still see him as the second favorite behind Roger! Andy’s game is better nowadays but if Roger is in top form I don’t think Murray will beat him.
Novak Djokovic is playing well also but he is not in the form that he was in last year. His results have been solid but not phenomenal recently. He lost in the Olympic semifinals to Andy Murray, then won the Toronto masters and lost to Federer 0-6 6-7 in the Cincinnati masters finals.
The Women’s Game
Serena Williams is without a doubt the best player in the women’s game right now. She might not be the most consistent player but she has shown once again that she can peek when it is most important and if she is in form and well prepared, her tennis is simply a level above everyone else’s.
Serena absolutely dominated the Olympics tournament and beat Maria Sharapova 6-0 6-1 in the finals!
If she manages to play anywhere close to this form at the US Open then she should be unstoppable!
Check Out This Interview With Serena
The second player to watch after Serena is Maria Sharapova in my opinion. Sharapova has been playing well all year and she seems to get better and better lately. The US Open surface should suit her game well and after Serena she is definitely my pick to win the title.
Victoria Azarenka is currently the number 1 player in the world and she lost a close high-level match against Serena in the Wimbledon semifinals. It’s tough to say what form exactly she is in right now but I definitely expect her to do well.
Petra Kvitova historically has not done too well during the US hardcourt season but this time around she won 2 out of 3 tournaments she played before the US Open and seems to be in great form. The fast surface at the Open should suit her game quite well in my opinion even though she has struggled at the tournament in the past and I read that she has struggled with the humidity at the tournament.
There are other players that could do well including Agnieszka Radwanska and Angelique Kerber but I don’t expect any of these players to have a real chance at winning the title.
Allright. So much for my 2012 US Open Preview. Hope you guys are excited about the tournament and let me know what you think in the comments section below!
