Djokovic’s quarter
Upset special: Tommy Haas over Juan Martin Del Potro in the fourth round. Haas is not quite as on fire as he was earlier this season, but he is well-rested. Del Potro, on the other hand, may not be 100 percent.
Deep sleeper: Marcel Granollers. His nearest seeds are Fabio Fognini and Benoit Paire and no other unseeded player in the Fognini-Paire section is ranked higher than No. 75 in the world.
Prediction sure to go wrong: Jurgen Melzer in the third round. Melzer is coming off a long week in Winston-Salem and a potential second-round opponent, Igor Sijsling, destroyed him at the French Open.
Winner: Novak Djokovic. Only a 100-percent Del Potro would have a chance of stopping him.
Murray’s quarter
Upset special: Denis Istomin over Nicolas Almagro and into the fourth round. If Istomin can channel what was on display at the 2010 U.S. Open against Rafael Nadal, this is a draw on which he can capitalize.
Deep sleeper: Ivo Karlovic. The 6’10’’ Croat advanced through qualifying without dropping a set or even losing serve a single time. He fired 37 total aces in his first four qualifying sets.
Prediction sure to go wrong: Donald Young over Martin Klizan. Three straight wins for Young in qualifying is an amazing feat by his standards. Asking for one more over a 2012 U.S. Open fourth-round finisher may be too much.
Winner: Andy Murray. The defending champ lost early last year in Cincinnati, too…. And look what happened. No time to panic.
Ferrer’s quarter
Upset special: Dmitry Tursunov over Richard Gasquet and into the quarterfinals. Tursunov is a player who feeds off momentum, and he is borderline on fire right now. He has a clean bill of a health and a relatively short week in Winston-Salem will only help.
Deep sleeper: Feliciano Lopez. The Spanish left-hander is playing well and has been to the fourth round of the U.S. Open twice in his career. He will fly under the radar with guys like Milos Raonic, Jerzy Janowicz, and Ernests Gulbis in this section, but all of Lopez’s opponents will be vulnerable.
Prediction sure to go wrong: Ernests Gulbis over David Ferrer. Based on current form, Gulbis may actually be the odds-on pick to win if this third-round clash takes place. And that’s what makes it scary.
Winner: Jerzy Janowicz. With experience from having reached the Wimbledon semifinals plus an absolute dream draw in New York, the sky’s the limit.
Nadal’s quarter
Upset special: Tommy Robredo over Kei Nishikori and into the fourth round. A revitalized Robredo is an outstanding 31-17 this season. He is 16-11 lifetime at the U.S. Open and has been to the fourth round an incredible seven times, including twice in his last three appearances.
Deep sleeper: Bernard Tomic. It’s not often that nobody is talking about Tomic. A relative slump is the reason, but the 20-year-old Aussie remains dangerous and Kei Nishikori as his nearest seed is not exactly a terrible draw.
Prediction sure to go wrong: John Isner in the fourth round. The Nadal-Isner rematch of their Cincinnati final is already hyped out of control, which is why it just seems destined not to come to fruition. Isner could face Gael Monfils in the second round and Philipp Kohlschreiber—who beat him last year in New York—in the third.
Winner: Rafael Nadal. There are two threats in this quarter and Nadal just took care of both of them in Cincinnati.
Full bracket
First round
Djokovic over Berankis in 3, Becker over Rosol in 4
Nieminen over Kubot in 4, Dimitrov over Sousa in 3
Paire over Bogomolov in 5, Smyczek over Duckworth in 5
Granollers over Zopp in 3, Fognini over Ram in 4
Haas over Mathieu in 3, Gimeno-Traver over Lu in 5
Dolgopolov over Goffin in 5, Youzhny over Mahut in 3
Melzer over Donskoy in 3, Sijsling over Gojowczyk in 4
Hewitt over Baker in 4, Del Potro over Garcia-Lopez in 3
Murray over Llodra in 3, Hanescu over L. Mayer in 4
Young over Klizan in 4, Monaco over F. Mayer in 4
Seppi over Malisse in 4, Devvarman over Lacko in 4
Johnson over Kamke in 4, Istomin over Almagro in 5
Wawrinka over Stepanek in 4, Blake over Karlovic in 4
Baghdatis over Soeda in 4, Anderson over Brands in 3
Benneteau over Przysiezny in 3, Chardy over Stakhovsky in 4
Vesely over Kudla in 4, Berdych over Lorenzi in 3
Gasquet over Russell in 3, Robert over Olivetti in 5
Struff over Rufin in 4, Tursunov over Bedene in 4
Lopez over Serra in 3, Klahn over De Schepper in 5
Andujar over De Bakker in 4, Raonic over Fabbiano in 3
Janowicz over Gonzalez in 3, Sock over Petzschner in 4
Kuznetsov over Sela in 4, Tipsarevic over Cuevas in 3
Gulbis over Haider-Maurer in 3, Kukushkin over Martin in 3
Bautista Agut over Bellucci in 5, Ferrer over Kyrgios in 3
Federer over Zemlja in 3, Giraldo over Berlocq in 4
Mannarino over Zeballos in 3, Querrey over Pella in 3
Robredo over Matosevic in 4, Haase over Dancevic in 4
Tomic over Ramos in 4, Nishikori over Evans in 3
Isner over Volandri in 3, Monfils over Ungur in 4
Roger-Vasselin over Montanes in 4, Kohlschreiber over Altamirano in 3
Verdasco over Dodig in 5, Davydenko over Williams in 4
Pospisil over Dutra Silva in 3, Nadal over Harrison in 3
Second round
Djokovic over Becker in 3
Dimitrov over Nieminen in 4
Paire over Smyczek in 4
Granollers over Fognini in 4
Haas over Gimeno-Traver in 3
Youzhny over Dolgopolov in 4
Melzer over Sijsling in 3
Del Potro over Hewitt in 3
Murray over Hanescu in 3
Monaco over Young in 4
Seppi over Devvarman in 5
Istomin over Johnson in 5
Wawrinka over Blake in 4
Anderson over Baghdatis in 4
Benneteau over Chardy in 4
Berdych over Vesely in 3
Gasquet over Robert in 3
Tursunov over Struff in 3
Lopez over Klahn in 3
Raonic over Andujar in 3
Janowicz over Sock in 3
Tipsarevic over Kuznetsov in 4
Gulbis over Kukushkin in 4
Ferrer over Bautista Agut in 3
Federer over Giraldo in 3
Querrey over Mannarino in 5
Robredo over Haase in 4
Tomic over Nishikori in 5
Isner over Monfils in 3
Kohlschreiber over Roger-Vasselin in 4
Verdasco over Davydenko in 4
Nadal over Pospisil in 3
Third round
Djokovic over Dimitrov in 3
Granollers over Paire in 5
Haas over Youzhny in 4
Del Potro over Melzer in 4
Murray over Monaco in 3
Istomin over Seppi in 4
Wawrinka over Anderson in 4
Berdych over Benneteau in 3
Tursunov over Gasquet in 4
Lopez over Raonic in 5
Janowicz over Tipsarevic in 3
Gulbis over Ferrer in 4
Federer over Querrey in 3
Robredo over Tomic in 4
Isner over Kohlschreiber in 4
Nadal over Verdasco in 3
Fourth round
Djokovic over Granollers in 3
Haas over Del Potro in 5
Murray over Istomin in 3
Berdych over Wawrinka in 4
Tursunov over Lopez in 5
Janowicz over Gulbis in 5
Federer over Robredo in 3
Nadal over Isner in 3
Quarterfinals
Djokovic over Haas in 3
Murray over Berdych in 5
Janowicz over Tursunov in 4
Nadal over Federer in 4
Semifinals
Djokovic over Murray in 4
Nadal over Janowicz in 4
Final
Djokovic over Nadal in 5
Comments and your own predictions are appreciated!
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vamosrafa – i was never picking Murray. That was an article in which we were just making cases for each contender, for the sake of argument. Not our actual picks.
i would have had to be VERY impressed with Murray in Cincinnati in order to end up picking him. obviously that didn’t happen.
oh okay..
djo being 32nd on the list affirms my picks, so sticking with it 😀
vamosrafa: see my question @ 4:50pm
Ed, I think the stat covers both best of five and best of three set matches… djokovic has won two and lost one deciding sets in best of five this year..he has fared poorly in deciding sets of best of three matches 🙂
I think there is no question that Rafa has been the best on hard courts this year. The fact that some commentators continue to talk up Djoker doesn’t bother me in the least. It just proves that they have not been paying attention! 🙂
If they want to continue to talk as thought Djoker is playing the way he did in 2011 or 2012, then that just means they have blinders on. That info about Djoker adding someone to his team for the USO, says it all. He is feeling the pressure from Rafa! I don’t know that another coach will be the answer, because I believe Djoker’s problem is mental. He is losing it in tight moments in matches when he used to be his best. When you see a player double faulting away breaks of serve, then you know there’s trouble. His serve used to be reliable.
What is interesting in all this business about the commentators not giving Rafa his due, is the comments from the other top players. Let’s just say that they have noticed how well Rafa is playing. I read comments from Murray somewhere online to the effect that he was quite impressed seeing Rafa do so well at Cincy. Fed also spoke about how well Rafa has played. Djoker said that Rafa is the best player this year! 🙂
So for those who wish to see only the ones who aren’t touting Rafa, I say it means a lot more knowing that his fellow top players are giving him all due credit.
Look, I didnt mean to offend anyone but sometimes I just get confused about the way people view Rafa’s chances when it come to tournaments and more so GSlams!!! Irrespective of how he performs in upcoming tourneys more often than not there is always this doubt or big debate that he could win. I will not say that Rafa is a lock for the US open but there is no way in hell that I will doubt that he will pull off the win. He has as much of a chance, perhaps even more based on form, than any of the remaining so-called big 3 IMO!!!!
If Rafa wins the USO it would make him only the 2nd player in the Open era to win what has been dubbed the American Summer Slam. The first person to achieve this was Rafter in 1998.
I think Roddick was the 2nd one in 2003.
abhirf,
You are correct.
My bad! Misread Wiki. He was the first.
Apologies to A-Rod 🙁
I don’t want to offend anyone either, but I remember very well what happened on TT when I was cautious in my predictions regarding Rafa’s matches. I don’t like anyone presuming to be the fan police. I think we should all be free to post our opinions and thoughts without fear of being branded disloyal when it comes to Rafa.
I am always cautious especially when it comes to slams. I never take anything for granted. That should not be interpreted as not having confidence and faith in Rafa. I know that Rafa approaches these slam tournaments with caution and respect for every opponent.. He doesn’t believe that he has won before the tournament has even started. He takes it one match at a time. I follow his example. I want him to win the USO very much. It would mean a lot to him and be the ultimate achievement capping off what has been a remarkable comeback. I am just not going to act as though he has it won.
I remember how there was this so-called Djoker fan posting on TT and Tennis-x. We all know who I am talking about. As it got closer to the Wimbledon final, this jerk was spouting off all kinds of trash talk, bragging about a certain Djoker win, how Murray had zero chance, how it was 99.99999% certain that Djoker would win, Murray would not even win a set, and blah, blah, blah. I knew better. I believe that Murray had a good chance to win that final. After the result, this guy was nowhere to be found. What can you do when you have made a fool of yourself publicly on tennis forums?
That’s why I don’t go running off at the mouth.
Yeah. This Wimby was a very good example of it. Anything can happen in sports.
But still, they happen once in a while. I dont think it will occur this soon.
Yeah, agassi won rogers cup and cincy but was beaten in the final of USO in 1995..Rafter did it in 1998 and Roddick did it in 2003..so all men who have won rogers cup and cincy have at least reached the final 😉
I think Murray was the favourite for that wimbledon final and djo the underdog…don’t know why people were confident about djoker’s chances….and I agree with the above posts that anything could happen.. Lets see how the players get started !
vamosrafa,
I didn’t understand why Djoker was the favorite for Wimbledon. I thought that Murray had a good chance to beat him. That feeling got stronger the closer we got to the final. I even had to try to bolster the spirits of some of the Murray fans who were not feeling too optimistic at the time.
Nice stat about the men who won both Rogers Cup and Cincy at least making the final! I hope it’s good luck for Rafa!
I honestly don’t want to be a downer, it’s just my nature to be careful before seeing even one match. Watching these guys is what helps me to decide how I think it will all play out. I have the luxury of not having to make a prediction before the USO starts. I absolutely want Rafa to win this, there should be no question about that!
Already excited for the 1st day of play.
Can’t wait for it to unfold 🙂
^^^ this
NNY: Here is the full text of what Murray, Djokovic and Federer had to say about Rafa
http://preview.tinyurl.com/lgso429
this bit made me laugh:
‘Even Federer, whose praise is normally reserved for himself, has been taken aback by the performances of Nadal on a surfaced that was always regarded as his least favoured. Federer said: “I’m clearly very impressed………………………..’
ed,
I just love how Djoker, Murray and Fed are tipping Rafa as the favorite to win here! Way to take the pressure off, guys! But Rafa won’t take that pressure on himself. These guys all have pressure and want to win, so they can say what they want. I guess they are taking a page out of Rafa’s book! 🙂
Djoker has the pressure of trying to turn around a year that has been disappointing by his standard for the last two years. He also has the #1 ranking on the line and don’t think he won’t want to fight for it. Murray has the pressure of defending his title here last year and 2000 points. I do think that he can be a little more at ease in the sense that he has now won two slams. He has established himself now. Fed has to turn around his precarious slide this year.
Rafa is great at defusing pressure. But I honestly think he does take every single opponent seriously. He will want to wipe out the memory of his early exit at Wimbledon. I notice that the other three guys didn’t mention that!
I just can’t wait to see some tennis matches! It will be nice to see Rafa playing on the first day of competition.
Let’s get this USO started!
yup ! lets get started ! vamosss 😀
NNY: I’m still puzzled by that early round exit at Wimbledon. Rafa was very sanguine so can only suppose there was more to it than meets the eye i.e. it was strategic rather than anything else. Whatever, he stormed back in better shape than ever. I dont suppose we will ever get over being nervous about his knee particularly before, and during, the majors. Fingers crossed he can win all his early round matches in straight sets – at least up to the QFs. it’s not like he needs match play to hot up this year!
We will never know what went on with that shocker at Wimbledon. For myself, I think it was about the lack of preparation and also the knee. But whatever they did this time with the knee, seems to have worked quite well. I haven’t seen Rafa moving this confidently and quickly on the court in some time. He is obviously feeling good.
I am always nervous at the beginning of a slam. But I am feeling good about all the match play Rafa got at Montreal and Cincy. I think he’s feeling pretty darn good about it, too!
Murray is the one with the most pressure followed by Djoker. If Murray falls early and Feru does well, Murray could go down to #4. If Djoker doesn’t defend his points and Rafa does well, Rafa moves closer to #1. If Nole doesn’t defend his final; points and Rafa wins the tournament, Rafa will be #1.
Rafa can relax and just hope to do well. He knows, more than anyone, how to take pressure off himself.
I think djokovic has the most pressure…Murray should not be having much pressure…
I feel this USO is most important for djokovic , then nadal and then murray…
Look who showed up for Rafa’s practice session, the Fed himself! Hahaha, first it was Muzza, now Fed, all that’s left is Novak and the whole HC specialist triumvirate will have turned up to marvel at the new HC specialist:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=624603110907015&set=a.340356722664990.83519.148218238545507&type=1&theater
Well, I never!!!!!!! Who’d have thought!!!!!!!!!!!!
Who let him in????
Muzz has already been practicing with the King of Tennis.
Blake retiring.
Muzza came to watch Rafa practice BEFORE hitting with him. You can tell Rafa’s a marked man, no?
Was that really Roger watching Rafa’s practice? I can’t believe it. Maybe it was just a phtoshopped haha. Can’t imagine what might Rafa have in mind knowing that Roger is watching him practicising.
Don’t get distracted Rafa, focus on your own game and play with no “presion”. Enjoy playing in a many matches as you can and give all your best to win them all. Just be careful. All eyes on you !!!
Vamos !!!!
I can’t believe what I am seeing! Fed is sitting right there in plain sight! Rafa knew he was there. This is really something!
I think Fed is openly scouting Rafa to get more answers. Unbelievable! Our Rafa is a marked man!
link?
I think that if Rafa’s knees let him play close to his 100 % and if he gets to the 2nd week (not sure if he will), then there will be no stopping him. Doesn’t matter who he plays against. IMHO
Struff, Tomic, and Nishikori all up breaks in their matches
Blake retiring??????
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why?????
old and bad
This is not a shock. I had a feeling it would happen very soon. The guy is 33 years old and hasn’t been competitive in tournaments for some time.
It’s the right decision.
Dont count your chickens before they are hatched Ricky 😛
Evans 2 sets up against Nishiikori
Rufin 2 sets up against Struff
1 set all between Tomic and Ramos – Ramos a break up in the 3rd
Kei bites the dust……