Tennisopolis : Tennis Social Network

Rafael Nadal’s historic claiming of the career Grand Slam rightly gets the headlines after the men’s US Open, but there have been other notable developments at Flushing Meadows. Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s careers
are going in an upward direction. The same cannot be said for Roger Federer and
Andy Murray.


Those who place regular tennis bets know that the handing of the baton of world’s best player from Federer to Nadal has been inevitable for some
time. That Federer is not the force he once was is not surprising – he is
nearly 30, a family man and has won everything possible, most of which he has
done many times over.


Nadal is almost six years his junior and after a thrilling period of rivalry with the Swiss legend unprecedented in its quality and sportsmanship, is ready to dominate in a similar way to Federer once did.
Federer will win more majors, but not at the frequency he used to.


A future Slam victory is less guaranteed for Murray, who will be more concerned at his current situation than Federer is at his own apparent slide. The manner of his third round collapse against Stanislas
Wawrinka in New York suggests a recovery of his best form will not be easy.


Murray himself publicly doubted his prospects of winning a major after that defeat, which revealed mental doubts that do not plague the two legends that have helped block his path to glory in the four big events.


As strange as it may seem, time is running out for the 23-year-old. Djokovic, back to his best and number two in the world, is a week younger than Murray and claimed his first Slam nearly three years ago. Juan
Martin del Porto is 21 and has already broken his duck.


Nadal is less than a year older and is the only man on the tour who is consistently stronger and fitter than the Scot. The Tennis betting Odds suggest that Murray will struggle to outlast the world number one. A handful of new challengers will soon emerge to make Murray’s task more difficult.


Murray is of course closer than most to a Slam title – he was superb at Melbourne and Wimbledon this year until running into Federer and Nadal - but if he hopes the gradual fading of Federer will make a massive
difference in his prospects, he is wrong.

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Comment by patrick m on September 18, 2010 at 2:47am
well written and informative and when you look at the point spread between no. 1 and no. 2 you can clearly see how Nadal is currently dominating
Comment by Jazz Burks on September 14, 2010 at 8:15pm
"Broken his duck"? Sounds painful. Seriously, the new Nadal that has emerged in NYC in 2010 may be unstoppable. The big serve is going to give him the "free" points that he needs to conserve his body and the way the cruised through the Draw in Flushing Meadows was Federerlike circa 2004-2007. I though the ATP had figured this guy out post US Open 2k9 and early 2010 but like Namor the Submariner and water, Rafa got back to his favorite red dirt and has become a greater player than I thought possible. Murray should learn that even the World number 1 has gotten better so the better develop a weapon or he's going to continue to get to finals and lose to guys that have been hurting people with Something that fortnight. Ask Wozniaki, all that defense nonsense is fine against the cannon fodder but when you go up against the big boys and girls you better be able to punch 'em in the mouth because they are sure looking to cave your grill in!

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