Tough road for Nadal at US Open
Source: Agencies |
August 28, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WORLD No. 1 Rafael Nadal faces the daunting prospect of possibly having to beat Roger Federer and Andy Murray to win the US Open for the first time and complete his collection of grand slam titles.
The Spaniard will launch his championship campaign against unseeded Russian Teymuraz Gabashvili but was given no favors during the draw at Flushing Meadows.
If results go according to the rankings, the top seed will face the in-form Briton Murray in the semifinals then Federer in the final, if the Swiss master successfully navigates his own tricky path to reach a seventh consecutive New York final.
Federer, seeded second, opens against Argentina's Brian Dabul before a possible third round clash with former US Open champion Lleyton Hewitt and a quarterfinal showdown with Sweden's Robin Soderling, the man he beat to win the French Open last year ahead complete his career grand slam. If Federer survives that, he could then meet Serbia's third seed Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, in the semifinals.
"The first four are of course the biggest favorites," Djokovic said. "But you also have (Andy) Roddick, Soderling, (Tomas) Berdych, these guys have all played extremely well and have played finals of grand slams."
Last year's men's champion, Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro, is unable to defend his title because of injury.
The women's draw, weakened by the absence of injured world No. 1 Serena Williams and former champion Justine Henin, is looming as one of the most open in years with at least a dozen players looming as genuine contenders.
Last year's runner-up Caroline Wozniacki was promoted to top seed after the withdrawal of Serena while the defending champion Kim Clijsters was elevated to second seed.
Clijsters will start her title defense against Hungarian Greta Arn but also has a draw littered with obstacles as she could meet Australia's French Open finalist Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals and Venus Williams in the semifinals.
Denmark's Wozniacki will begin her bid for a first grand slam title against American wildcard Chelsey Gullickson. But Wozniacki faces a tantalizing fourth-round showdown with Maria Sharapova, who joins Svetlana Kuznetsova as former Russian US Open champions in the same quarter.
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