US Open Tennis Series

The month of July is a little slow in the tennis world. You have two huge tournaments--the French Open and Wimbledon--played so close together, and then once Wimbledon ends it seems to take forever until we get to see a tournament where all the top players will play. Which is why I'm so looking forward to the Rogers Cup (and not just because I live in Toronto).

I think it will be really interesting to see who does well at the Rogers Cup and in Cincinnati this year. In the past I don't think the results of these two big tournaments in Cincinnati and Toronto have mattered all that much on the men's side because regardless of the results beforehand, you could pretty much assume that Federer was going to win the US Open and that Nadal's knees were going to burn out by this point in the year and that he wasn't going to be too much of a threat by the time the US Open came around. However, this year I think there are multiple players who could win the final Grand Slam of the year, and if Nadal's knees are okay then I think he's going to be a big favourite to finally win the title.

And for the first time in a long time I think that Federer needs to do fairly well in either Toronto or Cincinnati if he wants to make it to the final and possibly win the US Open again. I think he needs to win one of these lead-up events to show the other players that he's still one of the best (if not the very best) hardcourt player in the world. He also hasn't won a title of any kind in a while so I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to get another big win before the next Grand Slam.


Here's a list of the upcoming tournaments in the US Open Series:

Atlanta Tennis Championships, Atlanta, Georgia (Men)
July 19–25

Bank of the West Classic, Stanford, California (Women)
July 26–August 1

Farmers Classic, Los Angeles, California (Men)
July 26–August 1

Mercury Insurance Open, San Diego, California (Women)
August 2–8

Legg Mason Tennis Classic, Washington, DC (Men)
August 2–8

Western and Southern Financial Group, Cincinnati, Ohio (Women)
August 9–15

Rogers Masters, Toronto, Ontario (Men)
August 9–15

Rogers Cup, Montreal, Canada (Women)
August 16–22

Western and Southern Financial Group Masters, Cincinnati, Ohio (Men)
August 16–22

Pilot Pen Tennis at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut (Men and Women)
August 22–28

US OPEN 2010, Flushing Meadows, NYC (Men and Women)
August 30–September 12