Get Ready for Djokovic vs. Murray - Act Two

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, owners of 26 grand slam titles between them, are both in amazing form as they head into this year’s U.S. Open Semis. The only problem is, neither one of them is likely to be around to contend for the U.S. Open Championships on Monday. Andy Murray has been my pick to win his first grand slam tournament since the U.S. Open began and I see no reason to change that prediction now. But first, let’s look at the Federer – Djokovic matchup.

Federer is still a terrible threat to Novak Djokovic on almost any surface, but not on the hard courts at Flushing Meadows. There was a time not so long ago, when Federer was unbeatable in New York – but those days have crept by us now. The list of people who can beat Federer regularly on hard courts is terribly short - sporting only three men. The problem is that all three of them, Djokovic, Nadal and Murray are the three remaining men in the draw.

Federer has the skills, but has lost about a half a step in the past year and that’s all Djokovic needs. The Serb is brimming with confidence and has never looked back since stunning Federer in last year’s U.S. Open semi finals. He’s captured two grand slam titles this year and is hungry to put the U.S. Open on his resume.

Take Djokovic in 3, possibly 4 sets.

Nadal and Murray represent the other half of the draw and this is really Andy’s time to shine and finally join the grand slam club. Nadal is playing his best tennis of the fortnight, but he doesn’t have the firepower to overcome Murray - if Andy can keeps his wits about him. This is the eighth time the Scot has made it to a Grand Slam semis in his last 17 majors.

Hard courts are Murray’s best surface and after losses in three different grand slam finals – He has the seasoning at the age of 24 to capture this year’s U.S. Open and end the dizzying drought for the United Kingdom. You can’t sell Nadal short because he is the defending champion. But Nadal has lost a lot of the sting on his serve that led him to last year’s title. Unless he can conjure up that booming serve again, Murray will prevail.

As Nadal, Djokovic and Federer have grabbed slam after slam – Murray has been steadily improving. He is playing smart and composed tennis and if he can break out of his own head, he will overcome Nadal and stamp his invitation into the U.S. Open Finals.

Take Murray in four tough sets!