Even though the win against Nadal was progressive, even he knows the Nadal he might face at New York will be vastly improved from Cincinnati. Even with all this, he is miles away from the top-4 as the best game of Fish was still unable to beat a 50 percent Djokovic at Montreal, while he lost yet again to Murray at Cincinnati. His new found all court game is exciting to watch and so is his eagerness to improve. Mardy Fish (6): There is no doubt that Fish is the best American player at present, and he deserves it. Historically, he has not played well here in the last two seasons going down to big hitters not afraid to compromise on their shots, but one has to agree this is his best chance to win a major given the possible mental burnout of Djokovic, phsyical problems of Nadal and the natural decline of Federer. These are his peak years as a player, and with each passing major, the pressure on him to win that elusive one increases exponentially. The problem for him is that his peers have improved even more. He has improved a lot in these three years. This definitley eases the pressure on the rest of the tour and makes them more confident.Īndy Murray (4): Murray last reached the final here in 2008. The difference being, during 2008 his losses were brushed off as one-off, while now they are becoming a pattern, like with Berdych and Tsonga. He won Cincinnati in the last two years and failed to make the finish line at Open, while he lost in the first round in 2008 and yet saved his year by beating Murray in the finals. And if anything, his form in these masters is not indicative of his performance at the Open. Roger Federer (3): Federer loves playing in New York … period. I would expect at least a repeat of that if not more. Despite all this, he still managed to reach the semis in 2009, his worst year. The physical issues, while genuine, will definitely impact him even more. In addition, he faced problems with his foot during Wimbledon, burned fingers here, and some more blisters in the feet. It is the way he played in these tournaments–a third set tie-breaker against Dodig after having a break lead twice during the third set, and the error-prone three hour slog against Verdasco. It is not that he lost early in both tournaments, because he has not done well here historically. Rafael Nadal (2): The five losses to Djokovic has made a huge dent in Nadal’s confidence this year. More importantly, will it effect the confidence on his serve which has become such a potent weapon this year? How much would that be a factor going into the Open? And what about the shoulder injury? It would have been serious enough to make him pull off a match for the first time since Jan 2009. He looked disinterested during both tournaments, and this was after he had a month long break post-Wimbledon. Even though he sustained a shoulder injury in the final, it is the mental fatigue that would worry him. Novak Djokovic(1): The sub-optimal form of the Serb was still sufficient to make him end up as the best player of the two masters. Djokovic and Murray are among the top contenders for the Open
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