Wayne’s World – by Wayne Arthurs

Written by: Staff on 11th September 2010

Wayne’s World – by Wayne Arthurs

DAVIS CUP AUSTRALIA V GT BRITAIN SYDNEY AUSTRALIA 09/02/03 WAYNE ARTHURS (AUSTRALIA) WINNING FOURTH RUBBER PHOTO ROGER PARKER FOTOSPORTS INTERNATIONAL |

Former top 50 player, Tennis Australia coach and TV pundit Wayne Arthurs gives 10sBalls.com his views in an exclusive column

I’m working here at the US Open as a commentator for the Australian television channel Fox Sports. It’s given me a great chance to assess the chances of some of the big names in the men’s draw as we head towards the second week of the tournament.

Roger Federer is looking very impressive. When Roger comes here, it’s like his second home and here and Wimbledon are where he feels most comfortable. He is very, very happy with the speed of the courts at Flushing Meadows, which are very different to anything else the guys play on throughout the year. The courts here are very quick and his natural coordination and level of skill mean that he can cope very well with that. He was sublime in the first round and then second round, when it was hot and windy, and yet he still looked very composed out there.

Things haven’t looked as easy so far for Rafael Nadal, who isn’t so well suited to the speed of the courts. Against the very talented Temuiraz Gabashvili in the first round, Nadal looked late and a little laboured to the ball, which comes about because the courts are too quick for him. He’s very rushed. That said, he has got better every year he has come to Flushing Meadows and the change in weather could be crucial for him because if it cools down then conditions will slow a little bit.

Nadal having been a semi-finalist in the last two years, I would still back him to make it to the last four again.

If Nadal gets that far then he would meet Andy Murray, who is another man who has a very, very good shot at the title. Like Federer, he copes very well with the speed of the court, he’s got good hands on the ball and changes the pace up very well. He certainly won’t be rushed. Andy has had pretty good form coming into this tournament. He beat Rafa and Roger in Toronto a few weeks back, won the US Open Series and has played well enough in his first couple of matches to suggest that he will be a semi-finalist here at the very least.

Novak Djokovic looked very, very average in his first round match and was definitely affected by the heat, which can be an issue for him. Like Nadal, he will be very pleased to see the weather change and become less hot because it might hold the key to his chances to making a dent in this tournament. He improved a lot against Philipp Petzschner in the second round and I must say I was very impressed by his opponent, who is very, very talented and is certainly capable of playing top 25 tennis. Djokovic had to play well to beat him and he did that.

It’s hard to look beyond the top four for this year’s US Open champion but there are one or two other players that are worth keeping an eye on. David Nalbandian is a former semi-finalist here and he could be a dark horse, especially as he’s dropped a lot of weight and is looking very fit, plus he’s done well over the summer. You just never know what you are going to get with him but he is one of those players who can be playing badly and still find a way to win matches, just like he did against Rik DeVoest in the first round.

Robin Soderling is another player who I’ll be keeping my eye on. He beat Taylor Dent unbelievably easily on Thursday and that was a very good match-up because Soderling loves playing against guys that come at him. He is in Federer’s half of the draw, though, and even though he beat Roger at Roland Garros this year, I think Federer’s level of confidence is a lot higher here than it is in Paris.

Federer is very, very motivated here. He only made back-to-back quarter-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and he will want to win a second grand slam title and make it two majors apiece for him and Nadal this year. He lost to Juan-Martin Del Potro in last year’s final and that probably still hurts him and he’s also chasing Ivan Lendl’s record of eight US Open finals in a row. He’s made the last six. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t make it seven.

Topics: Andy Murray, Australian Television, Channel Fox, Commentator, Coordination, Fox Sports, Good Hands, Little Bit, Pace, Pundit, Rafa, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Semi Finalist, Television Channel, Tennis Australia, Toronto, Wayne Arthurs, Weather, Wimbledon