US Open 2011 Preview: Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and the Top 10 Title Contenders

With the US Open 2011 fast approaching, let's take a look at the major contenders for this years title at Flushing Meadows.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal will have his work cut out if he is to defend his title in New York as Novak Djokovic looks to take his third Grand Slam of the year and Roger Federer looking to avoid his first season without a Slam title since 2002.

Here's a preview of all those who will mount a challenge for the title.

10: Tomas Berdych

The Czech No. 1 has been hanging around for a while now and despite having a very average season, which has seen him fail to reach a single final, Berdych has maintained his place inside the Top 10 with a series of steady displays.

The 25-year-old rarely loses out to opponents the rankings suggest he shouldn't, so with this in mind he should make it through to the second week at Flushing Meadows.

Once there he will have to bring his best tennis. He recently defeated Roger Federer again, leaving the Swiss great to remind journalists that Berdych is a great player with a lot of potential.

Having reached the semifinal stage of the final warmup tournament in Cincinnati, Berdych suffered a knock-back in his preparations, being forced to withdraw from his match with Noval Djokovic after just one set.

Berdych would be a lot higher in this list if it weren't for his previous injuries since any player who is not at 100 percent will struggle to compete at a grand slam. So, Berdych is my No. 10 contender.

9: Nicolas Almagro

Almagro is not the best player in his country. Heck, according to the rankings he isn't even second best, but when you are from Spain, being ranked three in your country still gets you inside the world's Top 10.

David Ferrer may have been the more obvious choice to put here in the list, but Almagro seems to do better on the hard-court and he might just have an outside chance in this years US Open. Granted, he will need some luck and a favourable draw.

The Spaniard will also need to improve his first serve—especially against the big players—and that could see his chances improve slightly. He will also need to take his chances better when faced with a second serve. 

A victory for Almagro will be seen as a major upset, but with three titles already this year and two more final appearances, stranger things have happened.

Almagro will take inspiration from the occasion and will offer a surprise at this year's US Open.

8: Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils is perhaps the most temperamental player in tennis.

The fiery Frenchman appears to suffer from split personality and depending on which one of him turns up, he can surrender meekly or provide a spectacular victory.

So far in his career Monfils has struggled to maintain the positive side of his game in the longer five-set format, especially over a two week tournament. 

His exit at Wimbledon this year highlighted the inconsistency fans so often see. Losing a difficult first set against qualifier Michael Kubot, Monfils powered back in the second set to level the match, playing some great tennis. A rain break then seemed to change his attitude as he all but surrendered in the third and fourth set in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament.

If Monfils can get through the early rounds without getting too upset then he is certainly in good shape. He showed his ability by taking a set from Novak Djokovic at Cincinnati this week and if he has a good day he is more than capable of taking three from anyone.

His opponents will be hoping that a missing towel or warm water from a cooler will upset the Frenchman and throw him off his game, but otherwise he is a true force to be reckoned with.

7: Juan Martin Del Potro

When he won the 2009 US Open, many thought that Del Potro would be the one to overtake Federer and Nadal at the top of the world rankings. However, a series of long injury lay-offs have since prevented the Argentinian from building any real momentum.

Unable to defend his title in 2010, the 22-year-old Del Potro made a strong start to the season on the hard courts and has won two titles in 2011, but everything hasn't gone his way.

Having played less than 10 matches since Wimbledon mainly due to unexpected defeats, the former champion will need to build some confidence and some momentum in the early rounds.

A couple of good victories against lesser opponents will do that for Del Potro. He will then be able to rise to the occasion and make up for missing out on defending his title last year.

He is definitely one player the big four (and everyone else) will be looking to avoid.

6: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

The powerful Frenchman has failed to reach a slam final since his charge to the 2008 Australian Open final, but after reaching finals in Rotterdam and Queens as well as the semi-finals at Wimbledon, he has regained a spot inside the Top 10.

Like compatriot Monfils, Tsonga is often unpredictable, although he is not such an extreme case. His preparation for Flushing Meadows has been mixed, reaching the semifinals in last week's Montreal Masters before a precautionary retirement with an arm injury.

He seemed to have overcome that injury in a display of supreme serving as he breezed past Marin Cilic in Cincinnati, before his shocking defeat to Alex Bogomolov in the second round highlighted his unpredictability.

When at the top of his game Jo-Wilfried can beat anyone and he has already beaten Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer (twice) this season. However, his apparent lapses in concentration and untimely exits in early rounds means he has never really fully established himself in the Top 10. 

With all five of his career victories coming on the hard court, Tsonga is one man that should not be written off at the US Open.

5: Mardy Fish

Definitely the wild-card in the group of potential winners, but also someone who cannot be ignored when recent form is taken into consideration.

He has reached the semifinal or better in six of the seven hard-court tournaments in North America this year and has reached the final in three of his last four outings.

His resurgence has seen him defeat Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati, which will give him a boost of confidence heading into Flushing Meadows. With the home crowd behind him, Fish will be a very difficult opponent.

Streaking ahead of Andy Roddick to be the highest seeded American in the draw, Fish is likely to get an easy ride through the first two rounds. If the draw is favourable, he could find himself in the quarterfinals before meeting a real dangerous opponent and anything can happen when you are just three matches away from the title.

Forget the temperamental and injury-ravaged Andy Roddick, America's hopes lie with Mardy Fish.

4: Rafael Nadal

I know what your thinking, surely the number four spot belongs to Federer? Well no, it goes to Rafael Nadal.

Although his clay performances this season were exemplary once again, the hard-courts of 2011 have been less successful for the Spaniard.

Since losing his number one spot to Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, Nadal has only been part of two warm up tournaments in Montreal and Cincinnati, where he lost in his first and third games.

His fitness does not seem a major issue after fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco really tested him over three tie-break sets in the second round, but his game does seem rusty.

Away from the clay Nadal has lost a number of times to players he was expected to defeat easily and he never really seems fully fit. Unlike Djokovic and Federer, Nadal always appears to be putting the maximum amount of stress into his body in every point and this is what has lead to so many injury problems.

Without any real competitive edge in preparations, Nadal will be heading into the US Open with perhaps the worst preparation of any player who is deemed as capable of winning the last slam event of the year.

Although still one of the favourites to win, out of the big-four Nadal has to be ranked as the outsider.

3: Andy Murray

Andy Murray has proven himself to be one of the best players in the world and has now spent three seasons in the No. 4 spot.

Murray is yet to make his breakthrough into the top three and on the whole has always looked to struggle against the big three of Federer Djokovic and Nadal when it comes to the five-set grand slam tournaments.

The Scot, very much a love/hate character in Britain, will be hoping to go one step farther and win his first major title after two consecutive appearances in the Australian Open final and a US Open final in 2008.

He has struggled so far on the hard-court this season—losing his first match in four different tournaments—and as a result has not played a lot of hard-court tennis going into Flushing Meadows. However, he will be boosted by a victory at the Cincinnati Masters, taking the title in the wake of a Novak Djokovic's retirement in the final.

The signs are looking good for Murray in 2011, the last time he won in Cincinnati (also vs. Djokovic), he went on to reach the final at Flushing Meadows. 

The Scot will be looking to dispel the myth that he cannot win a tournament with a best-of-five format and go one step farther in 2011.

2: Novak Djokovic

Until Cincinnati, Novak was certain to be No. 1 on this list.

But as with Berdych and a few others who have not made the list, a niggling injury can make all the difference.

His record this season has been truly unbelievable—winning 57 from 59, barely losing to Roger Federer at Rolland Garros in a great match—and now his withdrawal in the final at Cincinnati sees Andy Murray become only the second player to beat Nole this season.

As he has proven all year, there is little anybody in the world can do to stop him if all things are equal, but with a shoulder worry there is a chance someone else could sneak in and snatch the victory from the Serbian.

There is no doubt that he deserves the title, his performances all year have been astounding. Over the course of the season Djokovic has given away only 20 sets, a number similar to the amount of matches many players would expect to lose in a similar period.

Djokovic will be expected to win his maiden US Open title over the next two weeks and there are very few who can stop him.

1: Roger Federer

This man needs no introduction at all, Roger Federer—67 career wins and 16 grand slam titles— and until he retires the gentle Swiss star will always be a threat.

Federer has had a difficult year in 2011 by his standards and yet he remains the only player to have beaten Novak Djokovic this year (although Djokovic retired when a set down to Murray last week). Both he and the Serb will remember that.

A finalist at Rolland Garros and beaten in an epic match at Wimbledon by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Federer is in danger of ending the season without a grand slam title for the first time since 2002. 

His flair and skill with the racket mean even when he is not at his best, he is still capable of winning and building momentum in the early rounds before bringing his best out in the latter stages of major tournaments.

Determination and desire will never be in short supply and Federer will be eager to prove his doubters wrong as many look to write off the 30-year-old. With Nadal seemingly struggling for form against top opponents, Djokovic carrying a shoulder injury, and Andy Murray less threatening over five-sets, Flushing Meadows could spark a revival for Roger Federer.

With the wisdom to match his skill, Federer has already started some mind games in recent press conferences and will be back to his best at the US Open in 2011.