Preview of the US Open series: The contenders

The last Grand Slam of the year kicks off in New York in less than a month from now. Players are getting themselves acclimatized to the hard courts after the grass court season.

The Citi Open, an ATP 500 event is underway in Washington at the moment. Two back to back Masters events in Montreal (Rogers Cup) and Cincinnati (Western and Southern Open) would test the players ahead of a much tougher task in Flushing Meadows.

Let us look at how some of the top players on the ATP tour are placed as we approach the business end of the hard court season.

10. Milos Raonic

After a remarkable 2014 where he reached his first Grand Slam semifinal (Wimbledon), Milos Raonic is struggling to put up consistent results on the tour. The Canadian started off 2015 with a runner-up finish at Brisbane Open (lost to Roger Federer).

Raonic lost in the last eight stage at the Australian Open before pulling out of the French Open with a foot injury. His Wimbledon campaign was cut short in the third round by young Australian Nick Kyrgios. Raonic has one of the best serves in the world and his booming forehands are difficult to return for most players on the tour.

For someone who was touted as a future Grand Slam champion, Raonic is not doing justice to the talent we all know he possesses. The Rogers Cup in Montreal would provide him the perfect opportunity to get back into form in front of his home crowd. Can he make it past the fourth round for the first time in New York? Only time will tell.

9. Rafael Nadal

One man who has nothing to lose in the North American hard court season is Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard did not feature in the US Open series last year due to an injury and is keen to improve his results over the next six weeks.

Nadal is upbeat after claiming his first European clay court title of the year at Hamburg (beat Fabio Fognini). He will look to carry that momentum into Montreal where he has won on two occasions in the past (2005, 2013).

Another thing that is in Spaniard’s mind is to improve the ranking ahead of the US Open. He is currently ranked 9th in the world and faces the prospect of meeting either Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer or Andy Murray as early as the quarterfinal stage in New York. A decent performance in Montreal and Cincinnati would help him climb the rankings.

These two events will give us a clear picture of Nadal’s chances in New York as he looks for his third US Open crown.

8. Marin Cilic

The 2014 US Open champion has not lived up to the expectations this year. A shoulder injury at the beginning of the year meant he had to give the Australian Open a miss.

After a fourth round exit at Roland Garros (lost to David Ferrer), he made the quarterfinals at Wimbledon (lost to Novak Djokovic). The Croat will look to recreate his impressive run at Flushing Meadows last year where he won his first Grand Slam title (beat Kei Nishikori).

His hard court campaign started with a loss to Nishikori in the semifinals of the Citi Open this year. Consistency will be the key for Cilic’s successful defence of the US Open. He dismissed Roger Federer in straight sets in the semifinals of the US Open last year. Can he bring his A-game to New York this time around?

7. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is another player who is inching to put up a great performance this hard court season. The Frenchman,who is the defending champion at the Rogers Cup hasn’t played a single tournament since losing to Andy Murray in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Tsonga did have a great run in Paris where he lost to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in the last four. The 30-year-old reached his first Grand Slam final on the hard courts of Melbourne in 2008 (lost to Novak Djokovic). He has improved leaps and bounds since then and Tsonga in top form can be perilious to any player on the other side of the court.

He is well rested for the North American hard court season and don’t be surprised if he reaches deep stages of major tournaments by taking out well known names in the process.

6. Tomas Berdych

Tomas Berdych had a great start to 2015 season as he reached the semifinals of the Australian Open (lost to Andy Murray). He also took out Nadal in the last eight for the first time in 18 meetings. The Czech carried that form into several tournaments thereafter where he made it to quarterfinals or better.

The World No. 6 had disappointing outings in Roland Garros (lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Round 4) and Wimbledon (lost to Gilles Simon in Round 4). He hasn’t played any tournament since and is eager to get back to winning ways in Montreal.

Berdych is one of the most consstent players on the tour and has been part of the Top 10 for some time now. He has struggled to make it count at Grand Slams where his best result is a solitary final. (2010 Wimbledon – lost to Rafael Nadal). The Czech struggles against the top 4 players in the world and should learn a thing or two from Stan Wawrinka’s exploits over the last 18 months to ensure his name is engraved on a Grand Slam title.

5. Kei Nishikori

A lot is expected from Kei Nishikori this hard court season after finishing as the runner-up to Marin Cilic in Flushing Meadows 11 months ago. He avenged his loss in a three-set win over the Croat in the semifinals of the Citi Open yesterday.

The Japanese is making a comeback to the tour after withdrawing from his second round match at Wimbledon due to calf injury. He is looking to win his third title of the season in Washington after wins in Memphis and Barcelona.

Nishikori pulled off a great upset at the 2014 US Open by taking out World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semifinals. His game is more aggressive at the moment and with fitness no longer being an issue, expect him to make at least the semifinals in New York this year.

4. Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka proved to everyone that his Australian Open win last year wasn’t a flash in the pan by reigning supreme at Roland Garros. Magnus Norman has played a huge role in helping Wawrinka over the line at critical junctures at business end of tournaments.

Wawrinka is seen by many as the only player who can stop Novak Djokovic from winning a tournament. He showed that in Paris by playing incredible tennis from being a set down in the final. Although his Wimbledon campaign came to an end in the quarterfinals, the Swiss is always a danger on the hard courts.

He is seeded 3 at Rogers Cup in Montreal and a win would give the Swiss all the confidence in the world as he aims to win Grand Slam Number 3 in New York.

3. Andy Murray

After claiming his first Major in New York in 2012, Andy Murray added another Grand Slam to his tally at Wimbledon the next year. He beat Novak Djokovic in both those finals. The Scot hasn’t tasted much success in Majors ever since losing to Djokovic on more occasions than one in Grand Slams.

He has made it to semifinals or better at each of the three Grand Slams this year and is a strong contender to win his third Major at Flushing Meadows. Murray’s American hard court season campaign got off to a worst possible start as he lost in the second round to Teymuraz Gabashvili.

He is scheduled to play in Montreal and Cincinnati before the US Open. The Scot continues to stumble against Djokovic although he pushed him to five sets in the Roland Garros semifinals. He has added more aggression to his game thanks to Amelie Mauresmo and Jonas Bjorkman. Will be able to finish off matches against the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic?

If he can find a way past these two, he is on his way to his second title in New York.

2. Roger Federer

Roger Federer’s search for Grand Slam No. 18 continues. The Swiss had a dream run in Wimbledon earlier this year only to be stopped by Serbian juggernaut Novak Djokovic.

After a slump in 2013, Federer has had a remarkable 18 months or so, including two Major finals (Wimbledon 2014, 2015). He took a break after Wimbledon and has pulled out of the Montreal Masters to concentrate on the fast hard courts of Cincinnati, where he has won a record six times.

Federer came undone by the brilliance of Marin Cilic at last year’s US Open, but he has every chance of bettering that result as he looks to add sixth US Open to his Grand Slam tally.

1. Novak Djokovic

The World No. 1 is on a mission this year. He has won every major title apart from French Open (lost to Stan Wawrinka) and comes to the hard court season fresh and raring to go.

Cincinnati is the only Masters 1000 title missing from Djokovic’s trophy cabinet. He practiced in Monte Carlo with friend Viktor Troicki before arriving in Montreal. It will be interesting to see how the long break affects Djokovic, whose last competitive match was the Wimbledon final nearly a month ago.

The Serb is currently second on the list of most Masters 1000 titles (24). A win in Montreal will tie his own record for most Masters titles won in a year(5).

It looks like some one should play a perfect match to get the better of Djokovic at the moment.