
The 2015 US Open will get underway on the 31st August and is the final Grand Slam event of the sporting calendar. Croatia’s Marin Cilic is the defending champion but may struggle to retain his title. World number one Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon finalist Roger Federer and two-time Grand Slam winner Andy Murray will all be eager to claim another major success in this year’s tournament, which will take place at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on 13th September.
Novak Djokovic has been in sensational form throughout 2015 and won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, as well as finishing runner up to Stanislas Wawrinka at Roland Garros in the French Open. His strong, relentless style has broken down many of the sport’s top competitors in the past and he will be relying on his sharpness and pace to exploit his rivals throughout the tournament.
The Serbian is looking to emulate his incredible 2011 season and many will argue that Djokovic’s achievements this season are far greater than those four years ago if he goes go on to lift the US Open title. At the time of writing, Coral are offering evens for the world number to win the tournament and secure a third Grand Slam success in 2015.
Although Roger Federer hasn’t won a Grand Slam title since Wimbledon back in 2012, the Swiss star rolled back the years at the iconic grass court event earlier this summer and was unlucky to come up against a supreme Djokovic in the final of the competition. Prior to their clash, Federer had played some superb tennis and looked well set to win an incredible 18th Grand Slam crown.
Federer may come to rue his missed opportunity at Wimbledon and could struggle to compete with the younger players on the hard court surface. The 34-year-old isn’t as mobile as he once was, and the likes of Djokovic and Murray would exploit Federer’s lack of pace – particularly if the match went to four or five sets. While he is more than capable of producing one final moment of genius, it’s unlikely that he will add to his five US Open title this year.
Finally, Andy Murray is another leading candidate for the crown this year and will be there or thereabouts in the latter stages of the competition. The British number one has played some sensational tennis in 2015 but has fallen short at key moments, particularly in the major events. Murray must raise his performance up to another level if he is to challenge Djokovic’s dominance in New York.
However, he is capable of producing sublime performances and could well lift the US Open title for the second time in his career this season. In fact, Andre Agassi recently claimed that the British number one would have won more Grand Slam crowns if he was playing in a different era and he’s right. Murray deserves a bit of luck and, although Djokovic is playing better tennis than anyone else, the Scot is tenacious and could scrape a victory if he performs at his very best.
