After the blitz of the Olympics with Rafael Nadal sweeping away the world no 1 in the men’s game and the Russian triad of Dementieva, Safina and Zvonareva sweeping the women’s contest, the spotlight turns to Flushing Meadows.

Men: The Djoker’s Moment of Truth: 

The US Open will see a new top seed, Nadal eager to become the first man since the peerless Rod Laver to have ever won Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same calendar year. Defending champion Roger Federer meanwhile is more eager than ever to reclaim lost glory and inch closer to the now seemingly distant Sampras fourteen. To pick a winner however, I clearly think Nadal is fatigued after his exertions at Beijing and would not bank on him to go too far. He has so far never progressed beyond the quarters at New York . That said, I do expect some classic performances from the dethroned Federer, but I also think he is running through a serious confidence crisis at the moment, which makes me feel he is likely to stumble towards the end of the first week. If he does make it through to the late stages of the Open, a resurgent Federer is going to stake a sure claim. The pretender here is Novak Djokovic who I would rate as most likely to take home the US Open. However the Djoker has had an indifferent past season and could not play at his best, which might just pave way for young usurpers James Blake or Andy Murray.  So, my predictions are: 1. Djokovic, 2. Blake 3. Federer

Women: The Venus comeback:

The women’s draw these days is far more complex with the seeds changing like lottery standings. The Russians, as demonstrated in the Olympics are a formidable batallion, with Dementieva and Kuznetsova laying claim. The top seeded Serbs Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic need to provide succour for their rankings. What we wont be seeing this year for sure is an all Williams final since the two are on a collision course for the round of eight. I would pick Venus to meet Ivanovic in the final. My predictions are 1. Venus Williams, 2. Ana Ivanovic, 3. Svetlana Kuznetsova 

Having made all these predictions, a change of reign is imminent in both genders of the game. In this interregnum, the US Open as of now is, too close to call.