US Open Tennis 2011: Which of These 4 Will Win the Men's Singles?

The U.S. Open will begin next Monday and it is, of course, the final Grand Slam of the year. But who will win out of the top four men? The competitive nature of the men's game makes it hard to pick a winner; however, a case can be made for any one of them.

Have a look at my analysis in this slideshow, and decide who you are backing to win the Open. Of course, if you feel an outsider will win this year, write their name in the comments section.

Novak Djokovic

It is difficult to look past the Serbian-born World No. 1. After all, he has had a superb year and is certainly seen as the one to beat. Djokovic has won eight singles' titles this year, including Grand Slam wins at the Australian Open and Wimbledon and he would clearly love to add the U.S. Open to that collection.

Djokovic's run this year has included only two defeats, losing to Roger Federer and Andy Murray. However, in the defeat to Murray he appeared to be carrying a shoulder injury. Nevertheless, Novak Djokovic goes into the U.S. Open as the hot favorite.

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Rafa Nadal

Rafa Nadal hasn't had anywhere near as impressive of a year as Novak Djokovic, but he has still shown some class. Overall, Nadal has won 3 singles' titles this year, including the French Open. Although he reached the finals at Wimbledon, his form since Wimbledon has been very patchy.

However, it would be wrong to discount such a great champion. Nadal will hope to get through the opening rounds relatively unscathed and rediscover his form. If he can do that then this No. 2 seed will be a real threat a the Open.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer is, without doubt, one of the greatest tennis players we have ever seen. But the great Swiss star has to compete with some younger players, and now at the age of 30, winning may be hard to come by. In fact, Federer has won only one title so far this year.

With that being said, Federer is still supremely talented and tends to bring his A-game to the Grand Slams. This year alone, Roger Federer has reached at least the Quarter-Finals of the Australian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon. Federer is again likely to feature in the latter stages of the US Open. 

Andy Murray

Many people think this could well be Andy Murray's big opportunity. He is up against some fantastic players, but all of the current top three players appear vulnerable in some way. Murray has shown real consistency this year in the Grand Slams,reaching two Semi-Finals and one Final.

This year Andy Murray has won two titles and will now be keen to grab that first Grand Slam title. So often with Murray it is his mentality that gets in the way of his game and despite not being the people's favorite, if he believes he can win it,he just might.