It felt like it was
only the other day that Murray delighted the nation at SW19 but today
it the start of the final grand slam of the year, The 133rd US Open.
Can Murray cope
with the expectation of defending the title?
After Murrays epic
4 hour and 54 minutes win over Djokovic in last years final and his
second grand slam title at Wimbledon this year he obviously is a
strong favourite. With Murray so use to having to cope with pressure
put on him,especially from British fans he should be able to cope
with the mentality easily however his form during the lead up hasn't
been so good with straight sets losses in the second round in
Montreal to Gulbis and a quarter final lost to Berdych in Cincinnati.
Saying this Murray does seem to save his best form for the Grand
slams with Murray reaching at least the last 8 in every slam since
Australia 2011.
Can Federer
regain form?
Murray may of
received some stick for his form in the run up to Flushing Meadows
but it is nothing compared to Federer with article after article
questioning if the Swiss great is finally reaching the end of his
triumphant career. Quoting Reuters Federer is clearly here to prove a
point. He said:-
"Clearly when
I come here I don't just look at making the quarter finals, you
know".
Federer is seeded a
very low 7th (one of the lowest seeding he has had for years) and
begins his campaign against Grega Zemlja.
Can a underdog
win?
Could this finally
be Radwanskas year. She has never made if past the forth round before
au the US open but the third seed has made it to the quarter finals
in France and Australia as well as the semi finals of Wimbledon in
2013. A bigger underdog could potentially come in the form of Simona
Halep. Since June Halep has won 4 WTA titles including her recent win
over Kvitova at the New Haven final. Other players to look out for is
former champion Sam Stosur who has recently encountered some good
form, Li Na is always a threat and youngsters Sloane Stephens and
Laura Robson definitely have the potential to go deep in the draw.
On other other hand
in the mens draw a underdog is a bit less likely but not impossible.
Jerzy Janowicz reached the Semi finals at wimbledon but recently lost
in the first round of Cincinatti, can the pol regain his form and
become a big threat yet again? Not a underdog but I think the best
person to spoil Murray or Nadals plans comes in the form on Juan
Martin del Potro. Fans should definitely keep a eye on him.
Finally here is
Tennisbanters five must see matches of day 1:-
Evans v Nishikori
Ferrer v Krygios
S.Williams v
Schiavone
Nadal v Harrison
Robson v Dominguez
Lino
No comments:
Post a Comment