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  • U.S. Open preview: Nadal has relatively smooth path

    8/24/08 10:10 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Rafael Nadal's life as a No. 1 seed begins on Monday at the U.S. Open, where his quarter of the draw does not look too taxing. He begins with qualifier Bjorn Phau.

    It's time to introduce your No. 1 player in the world and the top seed at the 2008 U.S. Open...Rafael Nadal!

    Sounds a bit odd, doesn't it?

    For the first time since the 2004 Australian Open, Roger Federer is not the No. 1 seed at a Grand Slam tournament. That honor belongs to Nadal, the world's new top-ranked player as of August 18.

    If Nadal adds his first U.S. Open title to an incredible 2008 resume that includes titles at the French Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics, his season would rank right up there with the greatest individual seasons of all time, if not right at the top. The draw definitely looks like it will give Nadal a solid chance of doing just that.

    He will play qualifier Bjorn Phau in round one and then either Olivier Rochus or Ryler De Heart in the second. By the third round Nadal should not have come close to dropping a set. The Spaniard's nearest seed—and potential third-round opponent—is No. 25 Philipp Kohlschreiber, who has slumped since stunning Andy Roddick in the third round of the Australian Open in one of the year's best matches. Viktor Troicki, the runner-up at the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C., might be favored over Kohlschreiber to reach round three in New York.

    Things could start to get tricky for Nadal in the fourth round. 6'10'' Ivo Karlovic, seeded 14th, and No. 22 seed Tomas Berdych will most likely battle for the right to play Nadal early on in the event's esteemed second week. Karlovic, who reached the semifinals at the Masters Series Cincinnati, can almost always stay close in any match thanks to his booming serve. Berdych has the talent to knock off the top players, but—other than beating Federer at the 2004 Athens Olympics—he rarely delivers.

    The struggling and injury-plagued David Nalbandian is the top seed (No. 7) in the bottom part of Nadal's quarter. It is James Blake, however, who will be favored to come through and play Nadal in the quarterfinals. French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils and the always-dangerous Robin Soderling are other potential quarterfinal opponents for Nadal should Blake slip up. Monfils and Soderling could meet in a blockbuster second-round clash.

    Picks:

    Fourth round - Nadal over Karlovic, Blake over Soderling

    Quarterfinal - Nadal over Blake

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