US OPEN 2010 OUTRIGHT WINNER IS A FEDERER-NADAL FINAL ON THE CARDS?

As we approach the business end of the 2010 US Open and we are left with six potential challengers for the title, invariably all eyes turn to the two seen as legitimate title threats – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. The potential of a Federer-Nadal final at the US Open is so seductive, and would be the single most significant match in men’s history if it were to happen, but are we so consumed with posterity as to be hasty in our dismissal of the others still in the running.
To listen to the pundits and experts weighing in on the tournament proper, it seems an almost certainty that Sunday will indeed dawn on another chapter of the best rivalry in individual sports. Federer and Nadal in the US Open is going to happen, so they say. So strong is their conviction that it would almost seem discourteous to contradict them.
I am sure many would agree Novak Djokovic is a legitimate champion in waiting; isn’t he the third favourite across all platforms. William Hill and Sportingbet.com list Djokovic at 6/1 while Paddy Power tips him just a sliver shorter at 11/5.
Djokovic is through to the US Open semis for a fourth successive season and standing in his way of the final is Roger Federer. The maestro has beaten Djokovic three straight at Flushing – in the 2007 final and the 2008 and 2009 semi-finals. Djokovic had his maiden breakthrough two years ago, but now he’s anxious for a second if only to shake off the moniker, one-hit wonder.
More intriguing a question though is whether the US Open will deliver a first-time champion in Fernando Verdasco, Mikhail Youzhny and Stanislas Wawrinka. Paddy Power and William Hill don’t differentiate between them, tipping them all at 40/1 to win the tournament. Sportingbet.com is even less generous, listing Verdasco as the 50/1 bet to win the tournament, while Youzhny and Wawrinka register at a staggering 66/1.
The charge against this triplet: neither has seen into the final of a major. In Wawrinka’s case, he’s never been to a major semi-final. In fact, he’s just made a breakthrough by reaching the quarters.
It is said that at the US Open, the best player always wins. In keeping with this refrain, the best players in the tournament thus far have to be Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. We are back to them again, after all.
Roger Federer is through to the semis without dropping a set and he is only a victory away from the securing a spot in the tournament’s premier movement. It is no surprise he's the favourite son, the short-odds-on favourite to win listed at 11/10 with William Hill and Paddy Power and 13/10 at Sportingbet.com.
Rafael Nadal is through to the quarterfinals dropping neither a set nor a serve... anything you can do I can do better, says Nadal. Nadal is two victories away from a spot in the final and as such he’s just nipping at Fed’s heels right now at 5/4 across all platforms.
Forget that they are the best players at Flushing Meadows; they are the best players in the game period. The two have set up a duopoly of the majors that has been nigh impossible to penetrate. Between them they have 24 Grand Slam titles, and in the last five years, only three players other than Fed-Nad have managed to grab a title – Marat Safin (2005 Australian Open), Novak Djokovic (2008 Australian Open) and Juan Martin Del Porto (2009 US Open).