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ShareMumbai: An astrological forecast for Leo in September says that those belonging to that sunsign will face a ferocious dragon to the left and an enemy army to the right. I'm no astrology pundit but it's an interesting analogy when you place it in the context of US Open defending champion, world No.1, father of two and yes, Leo, Roger Federer.
The ferocious dragon, let us say, is Rafael Nadal. He cannot be happy, surely, to being bumped down to No.3. And whatever the condition of his knees, his mind will be raring to go.
For Nadal, a US Open win means a career Grand Slam. But let's get back to the enemy army. Leading the charge is Andy Murray. The Scot has never won a major but he's raring to go. He has on his side brash confidence, an extremely defensive game and the hopes and dreams of a whole nation.
But he also has on his side of the draw the ferocious dragon. By the time they meet Federer (if he makes it to the final) they must cancel each other out. Whose hunger is greater? That will determine who wins that possible semifinal, assuming they both make it as far.
If there's a pincer movement waiting to get Federer then it has to be Novak Djokovic and Andy Roddick. They are on the same half of the draw as Federer but not in the same quarter. So to add one more to their total of Grand Slam titles (one each), they have to beat each other eventually in a quarterfinal.
We can spare a thought for a few other hungry contenders -- Juan Martin Del Potro, Jo Wilfred Tsonga and maybe even Nikolay Davydenko. But Federer's still the man to beat.
In the women's game, it's pretty much the same story.
Throw Venus and Serena Williams into the mix and you have two front-runners as far ahead as Usain Bolt in a 100m dash.
They are in the same half of the draw so only one can make it through with a possible semifinal clash. The biggest threat in the bottom half of the draw for them might be Victoria Azarenka and Vera Zvonereva.
Kim Clisters is back, but we'll have to see her get past Viktoriya Kutuzova of the Ukraine on Monday. For those who hold out hope for an Indian victory, there's Sania Mirza and if she keeps her errors down, can meet Serena along the way.
It is the first half of the draw that has all the new contenders banging on the Grand Slam doors. Dinara Safina is tired of people pointing out she doesn't have one. So is Jelena Jankovic. Then there's Ana Ivanovic, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elena Dementieva and Maria Sharapova who's struggling to get back on form.
Keep your earmuffs handy - the women's game is going to be a tough scream fest! I'm sure no astrologer would disagree with that!
Watch out
Arthur Ashe Stadium
1-Roger Federer vs Devin Britton; 2-Serena Williams vs Alexa Glatch; Vera Dushevina vs 3-Venus Williams; 5-Andy Roddick vs Bjorn Phau
Court No.13
Sania Mirza vs Olga Govortsova
Court No.15
Somdev Devvarman vs Frederico Gil
