You guys have to be realistic, as much as I am a huge tennis fan. I can accept Federer days in the sun are numbered.Federer has the most another 3 slams in him , 4 if gets a good draw. Will he overtake Pete's 14 major tally, only Fed himself knows.
( 2003-2007) Fed, most of his opponents already surrendered the match before the first ball was struck.This year the aura isn't as strong as it was, if Fed doesn't win the gold in Beijing, I predict a bad US Open for him. If Fed takes the Gold, the US Open is his to lose.

Nadal style of play isn't really suited to hard courts, unless he plays the like he plays on grass further in and takes the return of serve early.

This year Nadal is the better player for sure, but please don't forget that Federer was runner up in Hamburg, Monte Carlo, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon, although he won Estoril when Davydenko pulled out of the final and he won the Gerry Weber grass court tournament, its not a bad year for a tennis player, but it is a bad year by Roger's own definition.

Being No:1 and staying No:1 are two different things.

wow I think blake got jipped, to participate in the Olympics, you must have sportsmanship and integrity looks like Fernando has none, frankly I don't consider him a olympian if you didn't abide by the rules.

Well Nadal won his first Olympic gold medal. Now on to Flushing Meadows!!! To be honest I don't see him winning it, it would be tooo much to expect, Federer has won a gold medal albeit for doubles,hopefully that will boost his confidence, I hope he can successfully defend the US Open.
May the best player win w00t!

I doubt Nadal can stay number one for long, if he holds it for a calender year that would be amazing! My opinion is that the No:1 status will most likely change hands between Nadal, Federer, Nole.
I think slowly Fed will realize what Sampras when through, when young upstarts start gunning for his No:1, and with age catching up,being half a step slow, losing to people he shouldn't lose to, erodes his confidence.Naturally there will be a time, when Fed stays in the zone for 2 weeks and hopefully wins another major, exclude the French.
Can't wait for 2009!

I wouldn't count Fed out, with everyone's expectation for Nadal to win the tournament without striking a ball yet seems very premature, it certainly will take the pressure of Fed of winning the tournament, who knows this could be what Fed needs, no more pressure since he is not the favorite. The two top seeds have a high potential of meeting in the final.

Yhaa I agree Sam is a underdog, and he has potential to perform well against Nadal, I'd say Nadal has to serve really well, get a good percentage of first serves in, attack Querry 2nd serves.

I disagree, looking at the way Fish was playing against Monfils, I'd say that match he played against Monfils was better when he beat Federer early this year.Querry and Fish both have devasting serves and forehands, except Fish can volley exceptionally better, if Nadal doesn't serve well,ie like he did against Querry he may just make a early exit,however Nadal moves better than Monfils for sure, so this could be great match.


Federer is facing Igor, a right handed Nadal clone, this could be a dangerous match for Fed, he must stay sharp,attack the net when he can and maybe rush Igor.This match is Federer's to lose.

Novak won, but he didn't look like he won convincingly , he did just the bare minimum, and got through, if that went to a 5th my $$$ was on Andy.

Semi final predictions, anyone on who will reach the final?

I'll start lol

My money is on Murray he looks suprisingly fresh/fitter, vs hmmm this is a difficult decision I'll say Fed as he has better experience and looks like he will peak at the right moment, no point winning all your rounds 6-0, 6-0,6-0 and lose in the final.

What time are the Mens Semi Finals? Locally Malaysia time, checked usopen.org but didn't see anything x-p

Well my 1st prediction came out correct, Fed beat Nol, Murray is on the verge of beating Nadal, but seriously, they SHOULD of played BOTH semi finals simultaneously , due to heavy rain the Nadal vs Murray match is postponed to the next day... ,if Murray wins this in straight sets, and recovers well, I like his chances against Federer in the Final , who has a extra day rest. If Nadal wins the semi final, naturally a 5 setter, then its is Fed with a huge advantage, if Nadal doesn't recover quickly enough and with the US Open courts being a very fast surface, I expect Fed to exact his revenge on Nadal for the drubbing he received in this year's French Open final.

If its a Fed vs Murray final, I see Andy having a slight advantage ONLY if he beats Nadal in straight sets, if it goes to a 5th set, and he wins, my $$$ is on Fed.

Great win for Murray! Judging by his performance, his fitness will not be a issue in the mens final,soooo who will win this years US Open!?!!
Will Murray the next great hope from Scotland win? Or Will Federer's hunger lead him to a 13th slam title, one shy of the great Pete Sampras?!!!

My prediction is Murray, he looks like he believes he can win the tournament after gunning down the reigning French Open, Wimbledon Champion and Olympic gold medalist,no east feat I assure you.Although Fed has now reached 3 major finals this year, he has to play a determine Murray, to be honest this match can go either way, but I like Murray's chances.May the best player win!

Federer may opt not to enter any tournaments for year including year end Masters in Shangai and incuur huge fines, his reasoning behind it, he wants to be completely rested to accomplish his goals, breaking Pete's record, winning the French Open.Now thats thinking ahead.

You do know that he has already qualified for Shangai, BUT if he chooses not to play due to wanting to give his body a complete rest, he does not want a repeat of what happened to him at the begining of this year, mono really sapped alot of strength out of him and Nadal won 2 of the big majors,and losing the No:1 ranking to boot.

However according to the internet Federer has said that he will play in the Madrid Masters, so maybe he may rest for a while after that tournament.

Well the key to winning the French is that you have to be a grinder, and Federer does not have that game at all, look at the past champions, almost 95% of them were grinders from the backcourt, Fed style is going for his guns, forehand and then setting up the point and hopefully ending the point coming to the net or at the net itself. I won't say that its impossible winning this way, but its extremely hard, esp on the slow red dirt.I'd say Fed is probably the only player who has a good chance of winning on clay with his type of game, please note for a person who is supposedly not good on clay has reached a number of clay court tournaments and has even won a few, not forgetting being a French Open runner up for the past 3 consecutive years, I'd probably say he is the 2nd best clay court player in the world.

I do agree that someone has to take out Nadal for Federer, I suspect Fed has a SLIGHT inferiority complex playing Nadal on the dirt, if Fed doesn't win the French within the next 2 years, his chance is over.

HOLY CRAP!!!
I went to the washroom to pee.... when I came back....the TV was showing bits and pieces of Engine Block.....WTF, damn no standard man, at least finish the WHOLE match lah....ASTRO BOLEH!

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Added on October 18, 2008, 9:39 pmMurray won 3-6,6-3,7-5

This post has been edited by praetorian: Oct 18 2008, 09:39 PM

To be honest this match was a total letdown......it pales to comparison to the epic semi final between Nadal vs Verdasco.

To start off: Roger's first serve was not as consistent and powerful as normal, it looked like he was serving at 3/4 pace, second , for a player to be gifted to have all the shots, he did NOT play enough slice backhands, even Vijay noticed that when when Roger sliced his backhand, he won almost ALL the points.... and I counted less than 14,the thing that pissed me off the most, was that he did not take full advantage that Nadal was not 100% there!

The only positive I take from this match was Roger for the first 4 sets, his backhand and defence esp from the backhand was pretty good, that should be good news for the French Open 2009.

Nadal what can I say, this match was his in straight sets had he been physically fit, the only thing negative thing I can say about his play was that he was overworking Fed's backhand, he should of played more off forehands, and he was serving almost 98% of his serves to Fed's backhand, thumbs up to this trainer to get his in decent shape for the final.

Nadal has now 1/4 of a chance to win a Grand Slam in a single calender year, his chances for Roland Garros are looking good, *hint* he is defending champion at Wimbledon, so his odds are looking 50-50, but the US Open now thats truly is Fed's territory more so than Wimbledon, I don't like Nadal chances at the US Open, but who know's this AO win could just boost his confidence.

Hope both men have a great season!

Hahahah and for the SIXTH time in a Row.......ouch

Looks like Djokovic is in the final took 3 sets to beat Warinka, next match is Murray Vs Nadal, hopes Nadal takes it, coz if not Murray could be World No:2 if he wins the tournament ,could be wrong abt that though.....

Wah, Nadal got bye to semi final.....Nalbandian retired before match commenced.....confirm 5th Barcelona title..........