Can you bet against this man? The answer is no

Roger Federer's most controversial statement this week seems to be the fact that he has grown tired with pink and will most probably sport blue in the coming US Open at Flushing Meadows, Queens- New York.

Federer, already on 16 grand slam titles, recently said he would like to reach 20, and would surely love to beat Nadal on the way to another French Open or Wimbledon title. Despite only winning his second title of the season last week at Cincinnati, the World Number Two can take heart, that the other victory was at the Australian Open. Heck Roger, why not shoot for Margeret Court's 24.

Just as Federer failed at overtaking Jimmy Conners and Pete Sampras to stand alone on six US Open titles in 2009, losing to the spirited Argentine, Juan Martin Del Potro, he succumbed to Berdych this year, aiming to equal Sampras' seven Wimbledon titles. This year he will have another chance, and there will be no Argentinian to scare the willies out of him.

He has not faced his foe Nadal since the final of the Madrid Open, the only time the two have met in 2010. If the two meet again at Flushing Meadows it will be in the final, and Federer, who has won five titles here, will feel the favourite.

Nadal has looked jaded, again, as he always seems to do when we reach this stage of the season, possibly a result of his athletic style of tennis, and the wear and tear on his body. Yet even Federer must wonder how his body will cope with a seven match two-week tournament. He visibly wilted against Robin Soderling in Paris, then looked out of it at times against Tomas Berdych at SW19.

Murray lost to Mardy Fish, but will probably not mind too much, considering the American did push Federer to the limit in the Cincinnati finals. The Brit looked angry throughout the encounter, and made a shoot at the tournament organisers after his previous round match, citing the fact that he had played early afternoon in each of his last six matches (including the ones in Toronto).

Wilting in the fierce Cincinnati weather, with the intensity of the sun matched only by Murray's temper, he asked the umpire whether he had seen a net court when he intimated that he had not heard one. When he replied that he hadn't, Murray added "You haven't seen much today have you," which the umpire might not have heard, but the television microphones certainly did. And in case you missed it, Murray has yet to win a Grand Slam, foiled twice in the finals by....Federer.

The Swiss has niggling injury concerns of his own:- was his five set thriller with Alejandro Falla in the first round at Wimbledon the cause or consequence of his back and leg injuries? How much of his thigh injury was responsible for his loss to Lleyton Hewitt in Halle before Wimbledon? When he is seriously pushed in the next two weeks, will his body, and consequently his game crumble?

In his quarter of the draw, are names such as Hewitt (possible third round opponent), Jurgen Meltzer and Juan Carlos Ferrera (fourth round), and a possible quarter final against Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, Croat Maran Cilic or Soderling.

Murray meanwhile will have Berdych, Stanislas Wawrinka, Sam Querrey and Nicholas Almaggro to worry about in his quarter, and will have to run the gauntlet in most of his matches to be in with a chance of ending one of the most extraordinary fallow runs in sporting history.

But for Federer, who won five titles in a row at Flushing Meadows before being beaten last year, will still go in clear favourite.

Murray breaks through mental barrier

It was only a Masters 1000 tournament, but Andy Murray nearly choked up on the mic after beating Roger Federer for the first time in a final. When he wins a Grand Slam expect floods of tears. With the win he joined five others who had beaten both Federer and Nadal in the same tournament, while also being the first player since Andre Agassi to win the Rogers Cup twice in a row.

Ominously enough, Del Potro beat both Nadal and Federer to take the 2009 U.S. Open title, stunning the tennis world this time last year. This may finally be Murray's moment, six years after he captured the Junior title.

Murray may have hit a wall in failing to win a grand slam, but his play has never encountered similar problems. Year on year he gets better, although there has been a general feeling that, when he reaches the big occasions he tightens up and his game suffers. Not this week. Cut loose and free to play his shots on his favourite surface, and not only did he win, but he dropped just one set all week.

The Scot's fear of failure has finally been eclipsed by his desire to win- and the results were devastatingly obvious in Toronto, as Murray blew the competition away with a potent mixture of aggression and precision. Add to this unflappable poise that seemed dented only once all week, in an odd second set against Gael Monfils earlier in the week.

Federer put up stern resistance at the end of the first and second set but Murray recovered after both setbacks, firing two spectacular aces at the end, and saving a break point before the Swiss' forehand cruised long to hand Murray his first title of the year.

Neither Nadal and Federer were at their best, that much was obvious, but the question remains as to whether either will be 100% in time for Flushing Meadows in two weeks time. Federer may still be reeling from the injuries that plagued him at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, while the World Number One, Rafael Nadal seems to have burned himself out again by August. Perhaps they were both conserving energy for the Grand Slam. They will have no chance to rest up as the ATP Tour rolls on to the Cincinnati Masters today.

But there is an added dynamic in Cincinnati as Federer and Nadal are in the same half of the draw for the first time in aeons, with a possible semi-final clash in the offing. The pair have only met four times in a non-final match, with Federer winning a pair of Shangai Masters semi-finals, while Nadal triumphed in the semis of the 2006 French Open and R32 of the 2004 Miami Open.

Nadal-Federer is a thing of the past, Federer-Murray, or perhaps Murray-Federer as we should call it, will be the rivalry to watch. Murray, who has had his doubters, and quite possibly some doubts of his own has sought from day one recognition from one of the greatest players to grace the game of tennis. The 16-time Grand Slam winner was often critical of Murray's negative style, especially after losing to the Brit, but there now seems to be a healthy amount of mutual respect between the two.

Murray has been climbing the man mountain that is Federer, seeming to have conquered it twice, only to be thrown right back down to the base in his two Grand Slam final appearances. As time passes he comes back feistier than ever

Faced with three rain delays in his final match, Murray will hope that the same does not happen at the U.S. Open, as British fans have already seen the elements cost them a grand slam once this decade.

Murray receives a bye in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters, and will play the winner of Jeremy Chardy and Florian Mayer. His quarter of the draw contains Mikhael Youzhny, Fernando Verdasco, Jurgen Meltzer, Mardy Fish and Richard Gasquet. The U.S. Open starts August 30.

U.S. Open Could be Greatest Ever

August and Flushing Meadows Simmering Pot Ready to Boil Over

RARELY have so many tennis players approached a Men's Grand Slam with something to prove. As far as spectacles go, this year's Wimbledon was a dazzling success, but in terms of hype the U.S Open might top it. We have a world number one attempting to win his third grand slam in a row, the deposed champion whose run of five titles came to an end last year, and a clustre of new talent and old veterans vying for titles.

The Rogers Cup in Toronto, Canada will start on Monday, while the Cincinnati Masters played the following week. Then after a week off, the best in the world will converge on Queens, New York.

ROGER FEDERER (five times champion)

Its hard to write off a player who has won 16 of the last 29 grand slam tournaments,

though some people will do it in the next month. As if defeat to Tomas Berdych was not bad enough, he slipped down to number three on the ATP tour rankings. It must have galled to perform so limply on his first attempt to equal Sampras' seven Wimbledon titles, but Roger will still have that fire. The question remains however, how extensive are his back and leg injuries? Will he be 100% in a month?

He doesn't have much to prove, but it will feel that way, as he steps out onto the court, if he makes it that is.

Federer might want to gain as many points as possible in the next two weeks, but he needs to go into the Grand Slam fully fit and fresh. Yet if he arrives at Flushing Meadows as the number 3 seed behind Novak Djokovic, we could have a Federer-Nadal semi-final. They have only met once in a Grand Slam outside of the final, with Nadal beating Federer in the 2005 French Open semi-final.

RAFAEL NADAL (never reached the final)

His record at the U.S. Open is comparably bad if you look at what he has done at other tournaments, considering he has made just two-semis in the past seven years.

Beaten in 2009 by Del Potro, he looked less than 100%, while in 2008 it was apparent in his defeat to Murray he had burnt himself out during the summer.

Considering what Nadal has achieved in the last three months, it would seem he too has nothing to prove,but if he were to triumph, it would complete his collection of Grand Slams, meaning that when January rolls around, he would have the chance to do something Federer has never done-hold all four titles at the same time. He would join Rod Laver, Andre Aggasi and Federer as the fourth player in the Open Era to win all four Slams. Now that he has eight, 16 does not seem so far away. See you in 2012 Roger?

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Doesn't that Australian Open win in 2008 seem like an awfully long time ago? To be fair to the Serb, who was brushed aside by Berdych at Wimbledon, and squandered a sizeable lead against Jurgen Meltzer at the French, he has been there or thereabouts in the Slams for a few years. He

Last year the world number two was angry at talk of Murray as a favourite for the Australian Open. The split between coach Todd Martin earlier this year has resolved issues with his serve, and there have been a few instances of the Serb retiring from matches due to 'illness.' Considering his game, it is all about what mental state he is in.

ANDY MURRAY (2008 finalist)

John McEnroe said before Wimbledon that he thought the Brit's best chance of winning a slam was the U.S. Open, because there would be less pressure, while the hard court would suit his game. It is also a place he feels comfortable at, having won the 2004 Junior U.S. Open title. Since Federer is so immense in Grand Slam finals, Murray would have a better chance of beating the Swiss, if he faced him before the final. However, if the rankings stay the same, Murray could play Djokovic in the semis, with the possibility of facing the winner of a Federer-Nadal match in the final, where he to triumph.

JUAN MARTIN DEL POTRO (2009 winner)

What a body blow 2010 must be for the Argentinian. Just as he broke into the top four, he succumbed to a wrist injury, and has been unable to compete at the French, or Wimbledon. He'll watch from the sidelines as others compete for his vacant crown.

LLEYTON HEWITT (2001 winner)

Having surgery on both his left and right hips might have taken its toll on the Aussie. He might have beaten Federer at Halle, snapping a 15 game losing streak against the Swiss, but it remains to be seen if Hewitt can challenge for a Slams. In the end victory was easy for Djokovic over the former winner in the fourth round of Wimbledon, as the two time Grand Slam winner had lost too much pace on the baseline. Retirement beckons?

ANDY RODDICK (2003 winner)

He won in Miami by beating Almaggro, Nadal, Berdych on the way to the title. However his defeat to the world number 82 Lu Yen-Hsun was an episode in overindulgence. Relegated from the show-courts, the American threw a hissie-fit, and basically threw the match. He actually lost two of three tiebreaks, unheard of for Roddick, with the Chinese Taipei player taking the fifth set 9-7. Life in the old dog yet (although he is younger than Federer)?

TOMAS BERDYCH (flavour of the month)

Did you hear? Bird is the word. Watch McEnroe commentate on Berdych and see how many times he shoehorns the name Ivan Lendl in there. Its a lot. Beating Federer twice in a year, how many people have done that? The 24-year-old is starting to show the sort of form those in the know expected years earlier. Outclassed by Nadal in the final on Centre Court, Berdych could find himself a regular at the pointy end of future grand slam events.

Honourable mentions

Marian Cilic: the Croat should be a feature in the quarter-finals

John Isner: picked as a potential upset at Wimbledon, the American will be hoping for no more marathon matches

Robin Soderling: the world number five did beat Federer in the French, but remains on the fringe of the top four.