New York--(lawntennismag.com) In the men's draw instead of picking world number one Roger
Federer of Switzerland who is widely regarded as one of the main favorites to win, I felt like going with the upset of 5th seeded Andy Roddick
of the USA to take the title at the US Open.
New Haven finalist Mardy Fish of the USA and Marat Safin of Russia should both turn in some early upsets to each make the quarterfinals.
Here I'm picking Roddick to upset Federer who has not played his best on the hardcourts this summer. I'm also picking 6th seeded James Blake
of the USA who just won in New Haven to upset 4th seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia.
Quarterfinals
Andy Roddick USA (5) defeats Roger Federer SUI (1)
James Blake USA (6) defeats Nikolay Davydenko RUS (4)
Novak Djokovic SRB (3) defeats Mardy Fish USA
Rafael Nadal ESP (2) defeats Marat Safin RUS (25)
Semifinals
Andy Roddick USA (5) defeats James Blake USA (6)
Novak Djokovic SRB (3) defeats Rafael Nadal ESP (2)
Final
Andy Roddick USA (5) defeats Novak Djokovic SRB (3)
In the semifinals, Roddick and Djokovic of Serbia will power into the final where Roddick will take the US Open title. I'm thinking Andy will bring
his best tennis to the table. If not, rewind back to the quarterfinals where he will lose to Federer or to the impressive Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu
in the fourth round.
Darkhorses: Lleyton Hewitt, Tommy Haas
First Rounds To Watch: Dmitry Tursunov RUS (27) vs Tim Henman GBR. Two great players should provide a great match; possibly Henman's
last match before Davis Cup as he is then set to retire. Also watch how the three new young American hopefuls play: Donald Young, Sam
Querrey, and John Isner.
