Top 5 contenders to win the US Open 2014

The US Open – The last Grand Slam of the calendar year is just a couple of days away. The draws are out and the players are ready. Flushing Meadows is getting ready to host the final showdown of this year. World number one Novak Djokovic and five-time champion Roger Federer will be looking to take full advantage of Nadal’s withdrawal from the tournament.Federer benefits from more as he escapes a potential semi-final match up with the defending champion. Djokovic and Federer are the firm favourites to reach the final and battle it out for the US Open crown, but they could be stopped by some other exciting players looking to make their mark on the big stage.Here is a list of my predictions for the Top 5 Contenders to win the US Open 2014.

#1 Roger Federer

At 33, and after his poor 2013 seasonsome people might call it absurd to name him as the top contender to lift the trophy, but his performances this year tell us a different story. It certainly feels like we have gone back in time as Roger Federer has been able to play his natural attacking form of tennis with ease once again, which we did not see in 2013.

Federer has been in red hot form this year, winning the Gary Weber Open, Dubai Open and the Cincinnati Open last week. He has reached 12 semifinals out of his previous 16 tournaments and has won 15 out of 23 matches against the top 10 this year.

With Rafael Nadal out of his way, he will look to take complete advantage of that. The fast paced courts at Flushing meadows will certainly suit Federer as he looks to win his 18th Grand Slam. His title challenge will start againstMarinko Matosevic, and is likely to face big servingIvo Karlovic in the thirdround. A big challenge would await him in the quarter-finalas he is likely to face the youngster Grigor Dimitrov, whohas been called baby Federerby many.

The question here is will Roger Federer be able to end his two-year wait for a Grand slam?Or will he bite the dust?