Tennis Betting Preview: Federer has a point to prove as Nadal faces hard times

US Open Betting / Simon Mundie / 22 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

Nobody can be ruled out on the hard courts where the Wimbledon champion's weapons will be blunted.

SURFACES

So the clay court and the grasscourt seasons have been dispensed with for another year- and the hardcourt stretch is now upon us. It all culminates in the final Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadow during the last week of August, and this year there's some extra spice to this leg of the calendar, as for the first time since 2002 there's every chance Roger Federer will finish the year without a Major Championship to his name.

His nemesis, Rafael Nadal, has won the French Open and Wimbledon- the two surfaces considered to be polar opposites in terms of the style of game required to succeed on them, yet Nadal blitzed through both in remarkable fashion. So does that now mean Nadal should be expected to go on and dominate this part of the calendar too?

The short answer is no. Historically, the Spaniard struggles during this part of the year; indeed in the last two seasons he failed to win any titles after his Wimbledon campaigns. Part of the reason for this is down to the fact that his weapons are dulled on the hardcourts in a way that they're not on clay or grass. When he let's fly with one of his viciously topspun forehands on the red or the green stuff, no one really knows what the ball is going to do once it's bounced. But on a hardcourt, the bounce is a lot truer, so there's less need for guesswork. So the players who can take a ball early and hit flat drives off both wings have an opportunity to impose themselves on Nadal, and that's why he has struggled in the past against players like James Blake and Thomas Berdych.

So, Nadal besides, who are the players we can expect to make waves over the next couple of months? Of course we can't ignore Federer; he's lost his Wimbledon crown and has a point to prove, plus he's the four time US Open defending Champion. The World number one's all court game is rewarded on the hard courts of the North American circuit.

We can certainly expect Novak Djokovic to resurrect his season after bowing out on the lawns of Wimbledon to Marat Safin. He reached the US Open final and won the Masters series event in Toronto in 2007; his nimble footwork and ability to flatten out his strokes means he too will certainly fancy his chances against Nadal.

Andy Roddick, though unlikely to win a major title again, is another who likes it when this time of year roles around. Firstly, he gets more purchase on both his first and second serves on the hardcourts, and the true bounce means his suspect technique is less likely to be exposed. It gives him the breathing space to step in and take the ball early, as he tries to get in his 1-2 punch: the serve, forehand combination.

Jo Wilfred Tsonga is another man who could be expected to perform well. He showed at the Australian Open that when his game is on, he can blitz people as he did Nadal in the semi-finals. The hard surface in Melbourne meant Nadal's topspin couldn't really harm him; Tsonga knew how it was going to bounce up and his strokes were grooved that day so he found it easy to hit through Nadal.

One man who has failed to live up to the hype this year is David Nalbandian. He finished 2007 as the form player on the circuit, yet has failed to regain the lofty heights since then. But he is quite capable to turn it round and put together a good sequence of results in the run up to the US Open. His laser like ground strokes translate well to any surface.

But despite having players you expect to thrive at this time of year, gone are the days when you could count on whole groups of individuals you could expect not to perform. Ten years ago and before, there would have been the clay court experts, who's challenge wouldn't amount to much on any other surface. But these days you can't really count anyone out anywhere, as the game is played in such similar styles in every arena. Everyone likes to take the ball early and try and dictate play. So, even though the next few months will be seen by the likes of Federer and Djokovic as an opportunity to close the gap on Rafael Nadal, you can't really count anyone out; and that means we could be in for some barnstorming matches in the run up to the final major of the year.