US Open 2013: Experts' picks for the men's draw

The tennis experts of Sportskeeda look ahead at the 2013 US Open by making picks for the men’s draw in four categories: dark horse, early exit, dangerous floater, and champion.

1. Dark horse

Juan Martin del Potro

Haresh Ramchandani: Massive serve. Top-ranked American. Playing with a ton of confidence. John Isner is my dark horse pick on the men’s side.

SivaramL: We might have a three-way battle for the year end No. 5 ranking and one of them is my dark horse pick. No, not Roger Federer, for two reasons – 1. he is in Rafael Nadal‘s quarter, and 2. rankings notwithstanding, he cannot be called a dark horse, not yet! Juan Martin del Potro has been in fine touch this season, pulling off victories over Djokovic and Murray in Indian Wells earlier in the year and winning in Washington a couple of weeks ago. He nearly upset Djokovic at Wimbledon too, and now that he’s back on the courts where he has won before, he is my dark horse for the title even if it means he has to go past Djokovic, Murray and Nadal.

Virendra: I’ll go with former winner here Juan Martin del Potro (yes, he is a Grand Slam champion). The Argentine has had a good season so far and has featured in three of the best matches of the year – the epic semifinal against Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon (which he lost), the semifinal against Djokovic at Indian Wells (which he won) and the final at Indian Wells against Rafael Nadal. Del Potro is showing signs of regaining some of his blistering form from pre-injury days. A potential quarterfinal with that man Djokovic is again in the offing and he would also probably have to go through Murray and the in-form Nadal to win the title. But then again, he did something precisely along those lines when he won in ’09, beating Nadal and Federer in back-to-back matches.

Roh: The recent dip in Roger Federer’s ranking has made him a dark horse candidate in the very arena where he was once a favourite through and through. Though he’s been struggling with his form and fitness, Federer can indeed be expected to spring a surprise or two at this year’s Open.

Ram Narayanan: Though one is tempted to call Roger Federer the dark horse given his accomplishments in Arthur Ashe stadium, the fact that he will likely have to face his nemesis Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals does not augur well for him. That leaves us with Juan Martin del Potro, who will likely face a slightly out-of-form Novak Djokovic in the quarters. If he can pass the Serb test, then he definitely has the chance to go on and win the tournament for the second time in his career.

BallnRacquet: Since stretching Djokovic to a five setter at SW19, Juan Martin del Potro has been on the rise. Winning at Washington DC and finishing third in the US Open series, he seems to have found his old rhythm that saw him capture the coveted crown at the US Open in 2009.

Sumer: Milos Raonic has a good shot at going deep into the tournament; the highest seed he could face before the quarterfinal is 8th seed Richard Gasquet, a matchup which I’m sure the Canadian would be confident about. A quarterfinal against David Ferrer would also be a good matchup for Raonic.

Musab Abid: Is it too soon to be picking Jerzy Janowicz as a dark horse at a Slam? Not from where I’m looking. The towering Pole has already made his Major breakthrough, reaching the semifinals at Wimbledon, and seems primed to start slashing through draws with regularity. He is in David Ferrer’s quarter (read the easiest quarter) at the Open, so we should probably brace ourselves for a slew of mammoth serves and forehands to rock Flushing Meadows well into the second week.