US Open Tennis 2011: Why Roger Federer Is a Lock for Open Title

Roger Federer is the five-time US Open Champion and at 30 years of age, looks set to become the first man to win six Open titles.

After reaching the quarterfinals for the 30th consecutive grand slam event, we take a look at the reasons Federer will win the US Open and add a 17th grand slam title to his resume.

The Rain

Being in the top half of the draw, Federer has a big advantage over whoever comes from the bottom half to face him in the final.

Even with the final being moved back to Monday, the player from the bottom half will have played three times in three days before the final. Federer will have only played two times. 

Importantly, he avoided the mental strain caused by stop-start matches and arguments with officials during the two days of heavy rain at Flushing Meadows.

Murray, Nadal and Roddick have all faced a difficult mental task getting through their fourth round ties, and that extra strain will have an effect on whoever reaches the final.

A Winning History

Winning has become a tradition for Federer, something he will be very keen to continue. 

In 2003 Federer won his first grand slam. Since then he has continued to win by taking at least one in every season since then.  The US Open represents the last chance for Federer to win a slam in 2011 and extend his winning run.

Before losing the last two times he played at Flushing Meadows, the former world No. 1 had won for five consecutive years. This year he will, without a doubt, be looking to regain his dominance on the hard surface.

Winning is a whole lot easier when you have done it previously.

Bounce-Backability

If anyone needed any confirmation that Federer has the ability to put previous defeats behind him and move on, then his quarter final against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will have provided it.

After their epic five-set match at Wimbledon, where Tsonga became the first person to defeat Federer from two-sets down, and a further defeat in Montreal, all eyes were on how Federer would respond in the re-match.

Well, he responded the only way he knows how, by winning.  In straight sets. 

Federer has proven he does not dwell on defeat and will head into his semifinal re-match with Djokovic not thinking of his 2010 defeat, but of how he beat the Serbian in Paris earlier in the year.

He's Healthy

Roger Federer has had a remarkable career not only because of his results, but because of his health.

His fluent and technically brilliant playing style has kept him injury free for most of his career, whilst his opponents have struggled and battled with injuries.

Rafael Nadal has had some well published injury troubles, and his all-in style of play is always likely to cause problems and injuries as opposed to the smooth style of Federer. It will be difficult for Nadal to recover from three matches in three days before the final.

Novak Djokovic is also seemingly plagued with injury.  The shoulder injury that caused him to retire in the Cincinnati final may still make an appearance, and Janko Tipsarevic proved that Djokovic's serve can be vulnerable.  An additional worry for Djokovic is that he needed treatment for some nasty looking blisters during his quarter final.

Federer goes into the final two matches in very good health and without any undue stress on his body, his progress has been, and will continue to be, pain free.

More Records

Federer has made a habit of getting into the record books, and this year will be no different.  Already the fastest player to reach five US Open wins, victory this year will see him become the only man to have won six Open titles.

And little over a month after his 30^th birthday, Federer will be looking to use his age to beat the odds yet again. 

At 30 years old he will become the first man in his thirties to win a grand slam since 2003 (Andre Agassi), and the first US Open winner since 2002 (Pete Sampras).

Federer looks up to Sampras and is eager to match and beat his records.

He's in Great Form

While Nadal and Djokovic also seem to be in great form, it is Federer who seems the most comfortable going into the semifinals.

Having breezed through his opponents so far, losing just one set to Marin Cilic, Federer has looked comfortable in every round and has never seemed flustered throughout the tournament.

His quarterfinal against Tsonga was the perfect example of just how ready Federer is for the US Open.  With coach Paul Annacone, a man with a lot of experience in producing grand slam wins, Federer is finally starting to look like his 'old' self at the US Open.

Nadal may not have lost a set yet, but he has looked vulnerable at times and Djokovic has shown in the quarterfinals that he can be challenged.  

Federer will take physical and mental form into the semi's, and then the final, and will use his experience and calmness to take victory at Flushing Meadows.

What do you think? Will Federer win his sixth US Open, or can someone defeat him on the way?