Roger Federer and Andy Murray: Rumble in the Cinci Jungle

Anyone want to catch a fight this afternoon?
How about the King vs. the possible Heir to his thrown?
Oh baby, if we want to watch something special this afternoon, look no further than Andy Murray, the #2 player in the world, taking on the face of tennis, world #1, Roger Federer.

With no disrespect to Rafa, I will bank on Andy holding the #1 position longer than Nadal can potentially. Andy has a game that will last longer (in years) and the guy is on the freight train of physical and mental improvement. Is Andy in peak physical condition? Check. Does the guy have confidence to burn? Check. How about mental toughness? Check. An all-around game which is capable of evolving in a tough match? Double check.

The semifinal between Andy and Roger is going to be another glimpse of the future, but I'd be silly to put this many chips into the Scot this afternoon. Roger took a "just returning to the game" loss to Tsonga in Montrael, but otherwise has looked great returning. He's still the favorite going into the U.S. Open, and I'd still consider him the man to beat today.

On the other side, we have Nadal squaring off against Novak Djokovic. Will Rafa throttle Novak? Will Djokovic come prepared and play to his potential (which he hasn't in the immediate past)? I don't know what to make of this one. Anything can happen out there, but I wouldn't be surprised if we DON'T see a repeat of Novak's courageous effort from Madrid. I could be wrong, but I'm just not seeing that right now.

This however is another can't lose final for Cinci on Sunday. You have the four top ranked players all shooting for a berth in the final today, and when that happens, fans get bang for their buck.

Enjoy!
MarkOskar