Finally and I mean finally the big four of tennis will meet at the US Open which kicks off tonight for the first time in a long time. It was meant to be the case in Cincinnati but after Nadal pulled out at the last minute citing the need to rest up as the reason not to attend, Murray, Djokovic and Federer were left to fight it out for the title. The latter two giving the crowd a superb final with Djokovic prevailing comfortably in a straight set's victory over Federer to take his record against him to 24-22, including winning 4 of their last 5 matches.

There's no denying how impressive Djokovic is looking right now, he's getting results against everyone even when playing pretty poorly at times he is still coming through. Against Federer in the final at Cincinatti he upped the anti playing tennis the way he use to and brushing aside the Swiss Champion who had beaten him on all three previous occasions they had met in the Cincinatti final. He is now the only singles player ever to win all 9 Masters ATP titles - something the other big 3 have been able to accomplish.

Also we have to mention Nadal, although he was beaten by Djokovic at Wimbledon in the Semi Fnal which lead to an easy final for him against Anderson, he is the current US Open champion and will be determined to keep his title. Coincidentally Nadal beat Anderson too in last years final in New York. It seems like Anderson of late has a habit of getting to finals and tanking.

What Happened to the Other Big 3 Last Year at the US Open?

Both Murray and Djokovic did not feature in last years US Open, both were injured so for American fans this year will be a joy to behold with both back in action to bolster the line up and provide much needed competition for both Nadal and Federer. 

Federer went out in the Quarter Finals last year to Del Potro in the upset of the tournament. Many expected Federer to win the US Open having won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2017. But Del Potro completely hit through him with his thunderous forehand prevailing in four sets comfortably 7-5 3-6 7-6 6-4. Many will be hoping Federer doesn't slip up again as he also did at Wimbledon this year where he was defeated in a tense 5th set by Anderson having given away a 2 set lead against the South African and failing to convert 2 match points.

Weighing Up 10 Player's Chances...

Here I will be weighing up the chances of the top 10 players at the US Open plus one worthy mention in addition. It should be noted that the Top 10 players I have selected are not all in the top 10 ranked or seeded players but the ones I believe are the actual top 10 in terms of ability and previous results. I have ranked them in the likely order of a US Open win. These selections are all from my personal knowledge and hours of watching them play live over the past 2-3 years.

I will be mentioning the odds for players I feel are worth a bet or for those I feel are overrated in terms of their odds. So although some players are ranked above others on chances to win, I don't necessarily recommended number 1 if you want to bet.

Worthy Mention: John Isner

Isner has had a great year so far and has moved up to rank 11 in the world due to his victory at the Atlanta ATP and winning his first Masters title in Miami. The 6ft 10 yank has been serving incredibly consistently this year. We all know he has a huge serve but if you add to that a high first serve percentage and it becomes a tie break decided against any other player on the circuit - no matter how good they are.

The question still remains - can the American keep that up for a potential 5 sets. The answer is a resounding no! But he could possibly keep it up for 4 sets and so if John Isner wants to win his first grand slam in his career he will have to serve out of his skin and also be clinical with his forehand and net game. It is possible but it's extremely unlikely. 

Isner's record against the big 4 is not very convincing, he has lost to all four of them on numerous occasions. Of the 33 matches he has played in total against them he has won just 4 and lost 29.

Big 4 Record: vs Federer: 2 - 5, vs Nadal: 0 - 7, vs Djokovic: 2 - 8, vs Murray: 0 - 8

10. Nick Kyrgios

When will this guy get his game together and start playing the real tennis we all know he can play? Kyrgios has a lot of potential but how much longer can we keep saying that before he actually comes of age?

He has one of the biggest serves on tour which can see him through against alot of opponents but can he discipline himself enough to start actually caring about his return game instead of gifting his opponents easy holds? He should have beat Del Potro (way down on my list here) in Cincinnati but he clowned around too much on Del Potro's service game and allowed the Argentinian to get to him when he decided to have a 9 minute toilet break when honours were even.

If the Australian pulls himself together and remains focus, he's got a chance of going far in the Open and who knows after that? He has an impressive record against the 3 of the big 4.

Big 4 Record: vs Federer: 1 - 2, vs Nadal: 2 - 3, vs Djokovic: 2 - 0, vs Murray: 1 - 5

Only Murray holds a convincing record over him with the Brit winning 5 of their 6 matches.

Kygrios hits his forehand with huge speed and spin, capable of hitting through most players and except perhaps against the most defensive of ones - Djokovic and Murray where his winner percentage reduces dramatically. He has an all round game and is capable of finishing at the net to. 

So far he has reached 2 Grand Slam Quarter Finals. His first was at Wimbledon all the way back in 2014 when he was just 20 years old. Here he had a wildcard entry into the tournament so was completely unseeded but managed to record victories against Richard Gasquet and Rafa Nadal (who he beat in 4 sets). His second quarter final of a Grand Slam came a year later where he met Andy Murray at the Australian Open where he lost in 4 sets. 

He has a chance to be in the mix come the business end of the Open.

9. Alexander Zverev

Still only 21 years old, Zverev is the most successful of the next generation of players. He has won 9 ATP titles, 3 of which are Masters 1000's. So he's not short of victories in the regular 3 set tournaments but he has struggled thus far when it comes to the Grand Slam events. His best effort to date came this year when he made it to the Quarter Finals of the French Open where he lost in straight sets to Dominic Thiem.

Zverev has a highly adaptable game to any surface due to his solid defense for such a big player (he's 6ft 6 inches tall) and his consistent ground strokes. He is currently let down by his inconsistent net game. However this has not stopped him claiming 9 titles already on the regular circuit.

5 of his 9 titles have come on hard courts and to be ranked number 4 in the world you must be doing something right. Against 2 of the big 4 he has a promising record:

Big 4 Record: vs Federer: 2 - 3, vs Nadal: 0 - 5, vs Djokovic: 1 - 0, vs Murray: 0 - 1

His main weakness is vs Nadal where he has lost all 5. However 3 of those 5 were on clay. Of the two that were on hard courts, the most recent was a five setter where he managed to take 2 sets of Nadal at last years Australian Open. He was 2 sets to 1 ahead before he gave way. Then the first hard court match was his first meeting against the Spaniard back in 2016 so one can understand a hammering then. So there are some signs he is capable of beating him, especially given his maturity and success since those previous 2 hard court meetings.

Zverev's time may well come where he wins at least a handful of Grand Slams but I don't believe it will be this year or next. He still has more maturing to do physically and mentally. He also needs to fine tune his net game because he isn't going to outlast the likes of Nadal, Djokovic and Murray at the back court.

8. Kevin Anderson


If there was ever such a thing as a late bloomer in tennis Kevin Anderson would be the perfect example. Up until midway through 2017 and 10 years into his professional career his best ever result in a Grand Slam tournament was to reach the 4th round and that was only once back in 2013.

He made his top 10 debut in the rankings at the age of 29 and made it to his first Grand Slam final last year when he beat Pablo Carreno Busta in the Semi Finals. To be honest he had an easy run to the final compared to most, Busta was by far is toughest opponent he had to face. Still you can only beat the players in front of you and that's what he did. He went down in straight sets in the final to Nadal 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. 

Sucker for Punishment

His second Grand Slam final shared a similar fate when he made it to the final at Wimbledon this year having shocked the world of tennis by beating Roger Federer in the Quarter Final and John Isner in the Semis where it again went to 5 sets and he was forced to endure a 50 game final set to eventually overcome Isner 26 games to 24!  

He went on to loose against Djokovic in the final in straight sets 6-2, 6-2, 7-6. This was probably the more disappointing of the two Grand Slam final results for Anderson having come back from 2 sets down against Federer and saving 2 match points to claim victory in a 5th set and then battling through against Isner just to loose it so quickly in the final.

Still with 2 Grand Slam finals in 2 years Anderson now has experience on his side when facing some tough opponents in the US.  I wouldn't be surprised to see Anderson again wriggle his way into the later half of the draw, especially considering how well he has been serving and hitting his forehand this year. He has a big chance of atleast making a Semi Final but I can't see him beating the likes of Nadal or Djokovic - perhaps Federer and the suspect Murray, given recent results maybe his more preferable two opponents to face along the way out of the 4.

Big 4 Record: vs Federer: 2 - 3, vs Nadal: 0 - 5, vs Djokovic: 1 - 0, vs Murray: 0 - 1

7. Marin Cilic

Cilic has yet another consistent year without really achieving that much except when it came to the pre Wimbledon tournament at the Queens club where he surprisingly beat Djokovic in the final 2-1. He may have been a bit fortunate to catch Djokovic still finding his feet after his elbow injury but nevertheless he still overcame some tough opponents beating Nick Kygrios and Sam Querrey to reach the final.

He also reached the Australian Open final at the begining of the year where he almost beat Roger Federer just running out of steem in the final set after taking the 4th set and looking like he had momentum on his side.

He also made the French Open Quarter Finals where he went down to Del Potro in 4 sets which isn't too bad considering clay is his least favoured surface.

Hard courts are where Cilic shines the most and the US Open is funnily enough where he won his only Grand Slam thus far in his career. That was back in 2014 where he famously shocked the world of tennis by beating Roger Federer in 3 straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the semi finals before doing virtual the same to Kei Nishikori in the final robbing the Japanese player of what would have also been his first ever Grand Slam title.

Boy oh boy would Cilic love to repeat 2014 this year at the US Open. Ironically since that victory he has actually improved his game substantially without seeing any of that work bear much fruit. His serve has been the biggest improvement thanks to former coach Goran Ivanisevic who simply asked the question of why such a big guy standing at 6ft 6inches was not serving more aces! He went on to hone the Cilic serve turning it into a true weapon.

We saw in the Cincinatti Semi Final where Cilic faced Djokovic just what he is capable where for a whole set he dominated the rising Serb with his forehand. Don't be surprised if he's there or there about's in the US this year too. If he's playing well Cilic can be a threat to most but here's his big stumbling block. He has a very poor record against all of the big. Cilic has always been consistent against everyone accept the big 4 which is why he has not won more Grand Slams. That win back in the 2014 at the US Open was the only time he has managed to beat Federer. As mentioned he dissapointly could not keep the momentum going to overcome Federer in this years Australian Open final.

Big 4 Record: vs Federer: 1 - 9, vs Nadal: 2 - 6, vs Djokovic: 2 - 15, vs Murray: 3 - 12

Like all the previous players already mentioned Cilic is a good outside bet to reach the Semi's this year but he will most likely trip up if he comes across any of the big 4 with the exception of Murray only because he is still trying to find his feet after his injury.

6. Stan Wawrinka: My Dark Dark Horse Tip

If you saw Wawrinka against Federer last week in Cincinatti you will know why he deserves to be number 6 on the list. The 3 times Grand Slam champion looked unforgiving at times against his Swiss counterpart and has shown signs of getting back to his best after his knee operation. He is a danger man to all the big 4 and has the experience of taking them out in big finals.

Being no shy to Grand Slam success with a tally on par with Murray, if Stan can capture the form he showed before injury he could be in with a shot at the US Open given how big his forehand and backhands can be.

I can show you one video of Wawrinka and it can say more through that than a 1000 words I could write here. He is a great ground hitter and dogged defender when he needs to be, see for yourself...

Watch: Stan the Man Pulverises Djokovic to Win the US Open 2016

Does anyone have a backhand quiet like Stan Wawrinka when he truly strikes the ball? The simple answer is no, the power and flatness injected into his single handed backhand is absolutely lethal and this paired with his bludgeoning forehand can make him a big threat to any player on tour.

Big 4 Record: vs Federer: 3 - 23, vs Nadal: 3 - 17, vs Djokovic: 5 - 19, vs Murray: 8 - 11

His record vs the big 4 leaves a lot to be desired but don't let that fool you about Wawrinka, his favourite surface is a hard court and he looks like he's just warming up again to the game after his knee op. He could use 2016's success here as inspiration to take out some big names this year and make a play for the final where anything can happen if he's in the mood for blood.

Take your pick Wawrinka is 40/1 at various bookmakers including Sky Bet, Bet Fair, Paddy Power and Coral.

5. Juan Martin Del Potro: My Outsider Tip

The only player who I would put in his own category this year at the US Open is Del Potro. He is better than the previous 5 mentioned already but not quiet as good as the big 4. He is capable of beating any of the big 4 on his day and has proven this in the past. But due to his height and lack of speed covering the court there's too much pressure on his forehand working to overcome at least 2 of the 4 in a 5 set dual. Yes that's right he will most likely have to face atleast 2 of them to win the US Open.

Like Cilic, Del Potro's only ever Grand Slam title has come at the US Open. But you have to go back almost 10 years now to remember his victory over Roger Federer in an epic 5 set dual. Del Potro has had to endure time in and out of tennis due to reocurring wrist injury. This has lead to him having to somewhat abandon his double handed backhand in order to stay healthy and opt for a tamer slice instead which has lead to a lack of power on half of his play. You will see Del Potro running around to his forehand on any opportunity due to this and this can open up the court for an easy counter on him if he doesn't hit his forehand clean and hard enough. This is one of the main reasons he has not followed up his 2009 US Open success with another Grand Slam title.

Having said that he almost overcame Nadal at Wimbledon this year losing to him in 5 close sets in the Quarter Finals. He also made the Semi Final's of the French where he also lost to Nadal unsurprisngly in 3 straight sets here. His best victory this year came in the Final of Indian Wells when he again beat Federer 2 sets to 1. 

Big 4 Record: vs Federer: 7 - 18, vs Nadal: 5 - 11, vs Djokovic: 4 - 14, vs Murray: 3 - 7

Del Potro's record vs the big 4 is rather positive considering the number of times he has played each. Recent victories vs the Big 4 include last years US Open Quarter Final win over Federer where he beat him in 4 sets and this years Indian Wells win over him. 

Against the other 3 he hasn't faired well of late losing all the latest matches against Nadal, Djokvoic and Murray.

In general though Del Potro has had a very positive year and outside the Big 4 he is a likely threat to any of them. He is a great outside bet to win the US Open in my opinion and loves hard courts - they are clearly his favourite surface. 

You can get Del Potro to win the US Open at 16/1 with Sky Bet.

4. Andy Murray: Big Question Mark

At the end of 2016 Murray finished the year number 1 in the world. Less than 2 years later and he's fallen to 378 in the world. His hip injury has been very troublesome sidelining him for almost a year.

But the fact that he's been very cautious about returning to tennis picking his tournaments wisely is positive and the US Open is going to be his first Grand Slam return. With not the ideal amount of match practice he is a somewhat suspect player to wager anything on. Right now I am not sure if it's the lack of match practice and therefore confidence but he's not getting the depth he needs on his ground strokes and he's allowing opponents he would brush aside in the past take advantage of him. Just look what the hardly impressive Lucas Pouille did him in Washington.

Murray deserves to be in the top 4 purely given recent past history, whether he looks shaky or not he is still along with Djokovic the best defensive player on tour. He holds on equal record with Djokovic as the best ever return player in the game, they are both on an equal percentage for number of returns of serve made.

Murray thrives on the big occassions and apart from his two Wimbledon titles his first and only other Grand Slam win came here at the US Open back in 2012. When he won Wimbledon for the second time in 2016 he was also the finalist at both the Australian Open and the French. So there is still a chance he can hang in there and use this tournament as his return platform. The longer Murray manages to progress at the Open the chances of him winning will increase because he is a big time player he relishes the clash against the other Big players - Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

When you have a return of serve like Murray, every serve is a chance to break and so he's in with a chance against any opponent.

Big 3 Record: vs Federer: 11 - 14, vs Nadal: 7 - 17, vs Djokovic: 11 - 25

Murray does not have a superior record against any of the other big 4. However recent history does look kinder on him. Back in 2016 at the height of his powers he beat Djokovic in the ATP tour finals at the end of the year, beat Nadal in Madrid on Clay. Last year he lost to Djokovic in 3 sets at Doha.

Of all the players Murray would probably like to avoid until any possible final would be Federer. Even though he has the best record against Federer he has lost their last 5 meetings. Before this, Murray actually had the better record of the two.

I would avoid betting on Murray for this tournament, he is still very unproven after returning from injury and for all the analysis you can do on him, it maybe Andy Murray who defeats himself due to fatigue or a returning injury. Afterall this is 5 set tennis we are talking about not 3 set, which makes the question mark over his head twice as big!

3. Roger Federer: My Favourite Pick This Year: Great Odds

The Sneak Attack Specialist, the King of Grass, Fed-Ex, Swiss Maestro, the Greatest ever tennis player in the history of the game? I'd prefer the Silent Asssassin. This man moves around the court with pure grace, is so quiet and efficient yet produces stunning tennis capable of wiping anyone off the court in 3 straight sets when he's in the mood.

The problem is of late, he's been looking exposed in many games and I think the wave he was riding from his return when he shocked many by winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon last year is dieing down. Whilst he is healthy he will always be a threat but is he a reliable bet for the Open this year? I don't think so but then again his odds aren't actually bad because he's slipped up of late making him a surprise outside bet. 

You can get him at 11/2 at Sky Bet and a few other bookmakers.

Federer lost in Cincinatti to Djokovic giving fans just another little sign that it maybe time to hang up his racket soon and bow out in style. I can't help think he has another year left in him and then he's done.

For me the US Open is the title he wants more than any other now before he retires. Given that he went out in such disappointing fashion last year to Del Potro I think Federer will hungry for success this year.

Whether his game has looked a little questionable given his lofty standards of play one part of it has looked spot on - his service. Federer is not the biggest server in the game but he is the most precise and efficient. He hits aces easily and can rack up a whole game of them without breaking a sweat. This means he always has a shot at beating any opponent, even Djokovic.

I would like to see him bring his true backhand into play more in New York than he did in Cincinatti. He was opting for slice too much which allows his opponents time to pick their shots and relax up. Slice works great on grass but less on a hard court against more accomplished opponents and allows them to get on the offensive. He will definately have to up the anti if he wants a chance of getting revenge on Djokovic.

Big 3 Record: vs Nadal: 15 - 23, vs Djokovic: 22 - 24, vs Murray: 14 - 11

Federer has a strong record against Nadal of late on hard courts winning their last 4 meetings so I don't think he would be too concerned about meeting him in the final. He will be more wary of the threat Djokovic poses especially since he lost in Cincinatti in the final against him where the Serb looked very comfortable against everything Federer had to throw at him. Djokovic has the perfect game to neutralise Federer on a hard court.

Still expect Federer to atleast make the Semi's, so from there on, he has a shot and that's why he's actually a good bet this year with Sky Bet offering 11/2 odds on him winning!

2. Rafa Nadal: The Spanish Bull Ready to Charge!

He's been Mr Consistent this year nudging Federer off the number one ranking spot, dominated most of the clay season winning two masters and the French Open for a record 11th time and won his first hard court tournament of the season in Canada pulverising the young Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Rogers Cup for the second time this year.

Nadal is not just a clay court player, he has won 4 Grand Slams on the hard courts including the US Open last year and will be looking to make it two in a row. Last years US Open did not feature Djokovic or Murray in it so this year Nadal's route to the final will not be so easy. Last year he faced very little opposition apart from Del Potro who at the time was still trying to find his feet after a return from injury. Yes Del Potro had defeated Federer in the Quarters but if we compare him to the Del Potro of this year they are totally different.

Nadal Destroyed the Young Greek Tsitsipas to Win His 80th ATP Tour Title in Toronto

You can easily see Nadal getting through to the Semi's but if he comes up against Djokovic I think he will come unstuck the way he did at Wimbledon where he gave way to him eventually in a 5th set. This years tournament could see a Federer vs Nadal final but for me this will depend on one factor. If Djokovic gets put in Federer's side of the draw I predict that Federer will take Djokovic out and get revenge on him for Cincinatti. But if Djokovic lands in Nadal's side of the draw I think he will defeat Nadal and see Federer in the final.

Big 3 Record: vs Federer: 23 - 15, vs Djokovic: 25 - 27, vs Murray: 17- 7

Nadals record against Federer speaks for itself but of late Federer has enjoyed the better of the exchanges winning the past 5 matches. I think Nadal would prefer to avoid Djokovic along the way to the final to reach a possible showdown against Federer. Djokovic has the better record of the two plus Djokovic has won their past 7 meetings on a hard court and also beat Nadal at Wimbledon this year. Nadal is better adapted to take out Federer.

Nadal is always to be respected in every Grand Slam but I am not a fan of his current odds to win it. His best odds are at Sky Bet - 16/5 which for me are too low. I prefer Federer instead this year.

1.Novak Djokovic - The Serb is Rising Again

After returning from a problematic elbow injury the Serb sensation has suddenly caught fire over the past month with a victory at WImbledon then a big win against Federer in the final of Cincinatti last month to claim his Golden Masters achievement - winning all 9 Masters 1000 ATP titles.

Djokovic right now cannot put a foot wrong on the court atleast in terms of results. He has however looked susceptible, especially in Cincinatti where many of his opponents took a set off him, Cilic in particular looked like he had a chance but he choked like he has done so many times in the past.

This means although he looked solid against Federer in the final if you look at some of the key points in that game, the match was lost off the racket of Federer rather than won off the racket of Djokovic. Djokovic has an outstanding defensive game but if Federer is in the mood, he can hit through Djokovic meaning for me the Serb has too lower odds right now to be worth a bet. Yes he also has the best record against the other big 3 compared to their record against him but he has still lost enough matches in the past and I am not convinced he has the consistency to go all away the way in the US Open.

Djokovic Beat Federer 2-0 in Cincinatti Last Week

Watch for early signs for struggling through against weaker opponents, this will give you an indication of how susceptible he maybe in the the later stages of the tournament.

He is clearly still the favourite to win the US Open given recent results but he's not one I would put any money on. Go with Federer who would love nothing more than to with the US Open atleast one more time before he retires, it's the only Slam of the 3 he takes seriously that is currently eluding him of late, then take an outside bet of either Wawrinka or Del Potro.

Djokovic's best odds to win are with 5/2 with Ladbrokes and Coral.

Conclusion

No one can deny that Djokovic looks the favourite on paper with his recent wins at Wimbledon and Cincinnati. But his odds are too low and that has made me look again at Federer even over Nadal. Federer can go into the US Open with lesser expectations now after his recent performances and this may allow him some breathing room to fine tune his forehand and get rid of those unforced errors he has been producing.

I am going for Federer to win the US Open and Wawrinka to be the surprise of the tournament going deep into the later rounds having been given a Wild Card.