The US Open In 5 Words

Can this man be stopped?

Well, here it is, the last major of the year, the US Open, and not in recent memory has so much depended on one tournament.

If Rafael Nadal wins he will put the definitive last nail in the coffin of what was shaping up to be one of the greatest careers in sports, ever! Oh by the way, he would have also compiled not just one of the greatest Tennis seasons of all time, but one of the greatest sports seasons of all time.



If Roger Federer can somehow reverse his poor run and win as an underdog (for once), well then it will be his most stirring victory and will give renewed hope that he can continue his once inexorable march to sports immortality.



Of course, while all this has been going on, Novak Djokovic has quietly put together quite a year himself. Will that heartbreaking loss at the Olympics give him extra motivation against Nadal or just further discourage him? Just when I think it's going to be the latter, he always does something to bring the former back into the discussion.



How about my beloved Marat Safin? Maybe he has another Wimbledon 2008-like run in him at a tournament that was supposed to be the springboard to an incredible career? Probably not, but at least he'll be fun to watch.



Then there are the two Americans, Andy Roddick and James Blake, always flattering to deceive. They'll put together a few good wins, but will fade away when the lights shine the brightest.



Don't forget about the young whiz-kid Juan Martin del Potro who bludgeoned Roddick on his way to winning four straight tournaments in four straight weeks during the run-up to the US Open. Trust me, this kid could be dangerous and is wicked fun to watch.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Richard Gasquet

Gael Monfils

Andy Murray

The young 'uns should hang around into the second week. I hope Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has recovered from him injuries. Richard Gasquet will play some eye-popping tennis, and then lose a tight match. His countryman Gael Monfils will follow suit. Andy Murray, his game as dour as his personality, needs a good result to keep those British tabloids at bay.

The women are even more unsettled than the men.



You realize just how great Justine Henin ultimately was when you see how much of a power-vacuum she left at the top of the game when she quit abruptly earlier this year.



World domination was there for tennis darling Maria Sharapova's taking. A mixture of injuries and dispiriting losses knocked her out, and she'll be watching from the sidelines.



Her heir apparent Ana Ivanovic could have established herself both on and off the court following her French Open win. But again, decidedly mixed results followed and at this point I don't even know how long the ranking calculations can keep her at the top.



The Better Half and I love the other Serb, Jelena Jankovic. This crazy young woman slipped into the top ranking by default ever-so briefly earlier this month, but again the losses piled up. If she is healthy (emotionally that is) then she'll be there at the end. If not...well at least she'll be crazy fun to watch.



The hottest player over the last few months has been the other Safin, Marat's Lil' Sis Dinara Safina. Much like big bro she has always had the game, but her commitment and focus were always the question marks. She's righted that part of the ship, and I would be very, very happy if she took that final step to the next level.



Elena Dementieva beat Safina for the Olympic Gold. I love Dementieva, man, years from now people will look back on her and marvel that someone could do so very, very much with such a jaw-droppingly bad serve. No, really, it is that bad!



Lindsay Davenport will be there for her last hurrah.



Svetlana Kuznetsova is a former champion. That's all I have to say about her.

Nicole Vaidisova

Anna Chakvetadze

Alona Bondarenko

Nadia Petrova

There will be the usual mixture of hard-hitting, but emotionally volatile Europeans who will flame out racquets swinging. I am talking about people like Nicole Vaidisova, Anna Chakvetadze, Alona Bondarenko, and Nadia Petrova.

Am I forgetting anybody else? Hmm, let's see...oh yeah...



Venus and Serena Williams.

The Williams Sisters showed what they could do when properly motivated at Wimbledon this year, where they finally played a great match against each other.

A couple of losses at the Olympics followed, but then two got together and demolished everyone in the Doubles field, including seasoned Doubles veterans.

If they decided to show up, and if they realize that this thing is wide open, then look out, we could be in for something very interesting.

To paraphrase the immortal Bette Davis:

"Fasten your seat belts. It's going to be a bumpy ride."
LINKS

US Open Official Website