The ATP Tennis Tour has now moved away from the European grass and lay courts and has now embarked on the hard court season. It is the first time in many years that world number one Roger Federer has entered this phase of the season without having won one of the Grand Slam events of the year. He lost in the Australian Open semifinals to eventual winner Novak Djokovic and then failed to take the French crown from Rafael Nadal, who won his fourth straight French title. Worse still was Federer’s loss at Wimbledon, once again to Nadal in what has been described as the greatest tennis match ever witnessed.
This leaves Federer with just one Grand Slam title, the US Open, which he will defend at the end of August. It could be the last stand for him as a Grand Slam title holder. Many tennis observers are already writing off the big man, believing he will lose his world number one spot to Nadal by the end of the year. However, Federer remains the favorite to win the US Open at 5/4 and Nadal currently at 5/2. Nadal hasn’t had the best of his time at Flushing Meadow and is yet to make it past the quarterfinal stage. It is true that the surfaces do not suit his game, but his victory at Wimbledon is proof of how the overall game continues to improve and it is surely an event he will aim for, if not this year then surely next.
Perhaps the threat to Federer’s last remaining Grand Slam crown will come from Serbian Djokovic. With the Australian Grand Slam already in his bag, the world number three will be looking to improve this year. Federer defeated him in the final last year, but Djokovic is now a year older and in that year he has matured at a rapid pace and is now playing on his favorite surface. He has also had a couple of priceless wins over Federer; firstly, victory in the semifinal of the Australian Open, but before that, Djokovic defeated him at the Rogers Cup event in Toronto. These are victories that will, to say the least, unsettle the Swiss and, after suffering the loss of his beloved Wimbledon crown to Nadal, doubts will surely linger that something similar will happen to Djokovic at Flushing Meadow. Djokovic can back himself at 4/1 to win the US Open.