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Legends Pick US Open Champs
(August 24, 2010) Rafael Nadal is entrenched at the top of tennis and Hall of Famer John McEnroe believes the World No. 1 will make another major breakthrough and capture his first US Open championship next month. Four-time US Open champion McEnroe predicts Nadal will win the US Open and could win six or seven more majors. But McEnroe's archrival, Bjorn Borg, believes New York will feature a first-time Grand Slam champion. Borg is picking Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych or fellow Swede Robin Soderling to win the Open.
Several tennis legends offered their Open picks to David Law of the ATP Champions Tour.
McEnroe says Nadal is on pace to win six or seven more Grand Slam titles, which would push him ahead of Pete Sampras on the all-time list and while he believes the blue Deco Turf courts of the US Open are not conducive to Nadal's grinding baseline style, McEnroe says the eight-time Grand Slam champion's sheer desire to complete the career Grand Slam and become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open titles simultaneously will carry him.
"Rafael Nadal wants to win the US Open so badly and It’d be hard not to pick him even though he’s never won it," McEnroe said. "The guy’s just an animal; he’s mentally and physically incredible and he can definitely do it if he’s in this shape.The conditions in New York don’t suit Nadal so well and he needs to make his body hold up."
Borg, who fell to McEnroe in the 1980 and 1981 US Open finals, says Murray, who beat Nadal and Federer in succession to successfully defend his Rogers Cup crown earlier this month, can win in New York and rise to World No. 1.
"For the men’s singles I’m going to pick either Andy Murray, Tomas Berdych or Robin Soderling and for the women I pick Kim Clijsters or Venus Williams," Borg said. "Murray is definitely a player that can win Grand Slam tournaments. He’s going to be up there fighting with (Rafael) Nadal and (Roger) Federer from now on and one day I think he might be the number one player in the world."
Former Wimbledon champions Goran Ivanisevic and Richard Krajicek tab five-time champion Federer as the man to beat in New York.
"Roger Federer will win because he is always successful at the US Open. He’s been six years in a row in the final and won five of them and at the moment he’s playing well and he’s very serious and working with Paul Annacone, so he’s going to be the one to win it this year," Krajicek said. "And in the women’s side, now that Serena pulled out, Kim Clijsters will defend her title. She hasn’t played that great recently but she has good memories from last year and she likes the court speed at the US Open."
Ivanisevic said the surface speed in New York is simply too fast for Nadal to master and for that reason he is picking Federer.
"I think Kim Clijsters is going to win the women’s title because my first choice Serena Williams pulled out. I think Kim will defend her title now," Goran said. "And on the men’s side I think it’s going to be Roger Federer because the court suits him so well and I think he is ready to win his first Grand Slam for a while. I think the courts are just too fast for Nadal, they’re faster in New York than they are in Wimbledon."
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