TENNIS – The US Open men’s draw took place today at the Billie Jean King Tennis Centre and before any ball has been struck, this final major is set to be an incredible event. There are so many blockbuster matches set to take place from the very first round to the last. This is surely the biggest event on the tennis calendar all year.
For the top 8 seeds, if they hold true to form, this is how they are set to meet in the quarterfinals
Novak Djokovic (1) v Rafael Nadal (8) [Top Half/First Quarter]
Kei Nishikori (4) v David Ferrer (7) [Top Half/Second Quarter]
Andy Murray (3) v Stan Wawrinka (5) [Bottom Half/Third Quarter]
Roger Federer (2) v Tomas Berdych (6) [Bottom Half/Fourth Quarter]
However, there might be a few problems in the way of some of the top 8 getting to that stage. Murray has to face the young hot Australian Nick Kyrgios in the opening round. Kyrgios who has been the source of much controversy is known to be a big match player having taken out Nadal at Wimbledon last year and beating Federer earlier this year in Madrid. Nadal himself has to face Croat Borna Coric in his first round match, a player who has beaten him before, last fall in Basel, Switzerland. This is not the end of the Spaniard’s troubles as Fabio Fognini (32) looms in the 3rd round,Milos Raonic (10) in the Round of 16 and then Djokovic for a place in the semifinal.
Nonetheless, despite these huge first round encounters, some things remain unchanged. Djokovic should have a relatively easy route to the quarterfinals at least. He remains the player to beat despite losing two hardcourt finals this summer in Montreal and Cincinnati. However, he lost those to Murray and Federer which are not bad losses to say the least. He is unlikely to be troubled by the likes of Andreas Seppi (25) or Roberto Bautista-Agut (23). If he meets Nadal there, he would hope to even their head-to-head record here at the Open as Nadal is 2-1. It would be earliest they have ever met at this event as their three previous encounters were all in the final. Nadal won in 2010 and 2013 with Djokovic taking the title in 2011.
Last year’s finalist, Nishikori (4) has a relatively easy section and should be able to get back to the semifinal stage as he did last year to beat Djokovic. He is again in the same half as Djokovic. Neither Gael Monfils (16) nor Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (19) has shown any level of consistency to be able to challenge the Japanese. However, they are dangerous floaters and tend to come alive on the big stages. Ferrer still remains a questionable element at this event since he has not played an event since the French Open due to injuries. This leaves defending champion Marin Cilic (9) with an excellent opportunity to make it to the quarterfinals again where he might face Nishikori, a re-match of last year’s final. However, Nishikori beat Cilic in their most recent meeting this summer at the Citi Open in Washington DC.
If Murray gets by Kyrgios, he should get to the quarterfinals especially since Kevin Anderson (15) who he might face in the Round of 16 proves to be unreliable in the big matches. Defending French Open champion Wawrinka has a possible tricky 3rd round encounter against American Jack Sock followed by Gilles Simon (11) in the Round of 16. Nonetheless, it should be a battle between Murray and Wawrinka if they both get to the quarterfinals. The winner would play Federer fresh off his 7th title in Cincinnati. Federer has a relatively easy route to the semifinals again with only Philipp Kohlschreiber and either Ivo Karlovic (21) or John Isner (13) in the round of 16 before he possibly faces Berdych in the quarters. The Czech started off so well with year making the semifinals of the Australian Open. However, his form has definitely fallen off since late Spring and he is struggling to show any consistent form. Berdych does have a win against Federer at this event back in 2012, so he might be confident to repeat.
All in all, this US Open event is set to be a massive event and we are not even factoring the fact that Serena Williams is on tap to complete the calendar grand slam here.
