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Who's Hot and Not Heading into the U.S. Open

By Chris Oddo / Friday, August 23, 2013

The U.S. Open starts in two days. Who's primed to have a big tournament, and who's in danger of an early exit?

Photo Source: AP

U.S. Open 2013. The draws are out. The bets are in. All that's left now is the waiting.

Essentially, the hard court season is only two weeks old, but we're already here knocking at the door of the year's final Slam. What have we learned in the lead-up? Tough to say... In Canada and in Cincinnati the action started to take some semblance of what we hope to see in New York. Before that, Stanford, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Carlsbad were more warm-ups than litmus tests.

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A mere six weeks ago, both tours were still on grass and clay. On Monday they'll culminate the end of a transition that has been fast and furious. Hard courts, giant stadiums, rowdy fans and the whole nine yards.

It's time for the Open.

It's also time to ask the question: Who's hot and who's not?

Hot: Victoria Azarenka

You beat Serena Williams in a heated three-set battle playing some of the fiercest tennis of your already fierce career and you, my friend, are hot. Victoria Azarenka isn't the favorite heading in—no, that spot is reserved for Serena Williams, sorry boys and girls—but the Belarusian is now nearly a 50/50 pick to knock off Serena if they should meet in the U.S. Open final.

The progression is logical. After last year's heartbreaker final in New York in which Azarenka served for the U.S. Open title, Vika passed the ultimate test last week in Cincinnati. That U.S. Open match was high on drama. So was Cincinnati, and in winning it, Azarenka proved that she may be ready to take ownership of her rivalry with Serena Williams. Serena, obviously, will have other ideas, and hopefully we'll all get to see what they are in a little over two weeks...

Not: Fabio Fognini

Fabio was brilliant on clay in the mid-summer—I mean absolutely brilliant. So brilliant that he rose to a career-high ranking of 16 after winning 13 matches and two titles in a row. He was finally beaten in Umag by Tommy Robredo, but not after becoming the top-ranked Italian and a card-carrying top 20 member.

But since he's stepped off the clay, Fognini's gone a bit cold. He went 1-2 for the hard court summer. Not exactly great preparation for the U.S. Open, but Fognini has always been one to shoot from the hip. Maybe the chaos and lack of form will inspire him to practice like a maniac and own up to his top 20 ranking.

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Hot: Rafael Nadal

Everybody knows it. The Spaniard is on fire, a blaze gone out of control. Even for Rafa, winning 15 straight hard court matches is a little over the top. How can he possibly keep this up? We are used to Rafa running the table on clay, but on hard courts this is a new phenomenon. At 27, Nadal is bringing his hard court game to an entirely new level. He is currently in a state of nirvana. Mentally, physically, tactically, spiritually, Nadal is doing everything right.

The only question is whether or not he can keep it up.

Not: Novak Djokovic

After getting strong-armed by Andy Murray in the Wimbledon final, Novak Djokovic's form has been mildly puzzling. He was good in Montreal, just barely losing to Nadal in a third-set tiebreaker in the semis. But he wasn't quite as good in Cincinnati, where he lost to John Isner by getting broken in the final game of the match. The strangest/most disconcerting part of that match is the fact that Djokovic faced 10 break points against Isner. Not good serving numbers for Djokovic in a big match (quarterfinal, Masters 1000).

But the world No. 1 was his usual dominant and authoritative self in many instances in Cincy and Montreal, and he's experienced at turning his game on and off as the circumstances require. Sometimes, it feels that Djokovic flicks the switch too late these days. The talent is there but it stays bottled up at times.

Not: Dominika Cibulkova

After winning Stanford and reaching the quarters in Toronto earlier this summer. Cibulkova has lost her magic powers. She has proven her wild inconsistency with three straight losses, two against players ranked below her. She's a good hard court player, but coming into New York with three straight losses is not an ideal situation.

Hot but also Not: Sorana Cirstea

Semis Stanford, quarters D.C., final Toronto. It was shaping up to be a career-defining summer for the Romanian. But an ab strain forced her to pull out of Cincinnati. Then she retired after three games to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in New Haven. Can she get healthy? Let's hope.

Hot: Serena Williams

Williams is going to be determined in New York, thanks to her harrowing loss to Victoria Azarenka in Cincinnati. One thing's for certain about the world No. 1 and 16-time Grand Slam champion: she does not want to let her dominance (career record 12-3) over Azarenka subside. Miss Williams will do everything she can to wrestle the power back in New York. And now she's got the motivation to make those long practice sessions seem worthwhile.

Not: David Ferrer

David Ferrer doesn't need clay to be an amazing player. He amazes on any surface. And he's been good in New York, too, reaching the semis twice, in 2007 and 2012. But Ferrer is 1-2 since Wimbledon, with losses to Alex Bogomolov Jr. and Dmitry Tursunov. Can he find his missing form on the practice court or is he destined for a rough ride in New York?