US Open - Will Defending Champion Federer Win the Grand Slam?

The 27-year-old tennis player ex number one in the world, the Swiss Roger Federer began his run for a fifth US Open title as defending champion only early this week in New York City. Federer whose reign in the top position came to an end during mid August 2008 will fight his way through the finals as he has stated himself that winning this year's US Open Grand Slam has become his immediate priority as he strongly feels he has lots to give to the sport still.

Federer's singles professional career include 55 ATP titles of which 12 are Grand Slams in all surfaces and in the all world latitudes except the French Open at Roland Garros where he has been runner up for three consecutive years. It is really not necessary to speak about all the different achievements Federer has set to his name, as we all know he is one - if not - the greatest player in the history of tennis.

During the 2008 ATP Tour, Federer encountered many health issues which became a non-stop nightmare for the tennis player who struggled for most part of the first six months of the year to get back on his feet. His weak health condition and his vague decision on whether to partner with a new coach to renew his game style and try different strategies became his doom. Many of us believed Federer could have turned things around if he would have yielded to the fact that there are many young talents striving to get to the number one position but the months went by and we saw no change.

Nevertheless, Federer has stated that his ATP career is not over yet and we believe it to be true as there is no doubt he is still an extraordinary player with amazing abilities that no one had seen before. While at Wimbledon Federer seemed different, he knew that could be a turning point in his career and there, we all witness how both long-time rivals; Federer and the Spaniard Rafa Nadal fought relentlessly to win at the All England club. But unfortunately for the Swiss his best effort was not enough and after the 5-hour play which later on became a 7-hour match due to a rain delay - he gave in.

More recently at the Olympic Games in Beijing, Federer seemed more concentrated in winning the doubles tournament, which he in conjunction with fellowman Stanislas Wawrinka achieved by defeating the Swedish couple formed by Simon Aspelin and Thomas Johansson. Both Swiss players were awarded with the men's doubles gold medal.

Up to this point in the men's draw at the US Open, Roger Federer who by the way - seems more relax and comfortable with his game - has played two rounds; the first against Argentinean Maximo Gonzalez and the second against Thiago Alves who Federer defeated in three sets 3-6, 0-6, 3-6.

In the third round Federer faced Radek Stepanek who is currently ranked 30th in the ATP rankings and managed to defeat him in consecutive sets and now he will face the raising Russian star Igor Andreev in the fourth round. We hope for the Swiss master as he will always be called to move into the quarter finals getting closer to defend his last year's title.

Claudia Beckford provides outstanding and current content to sports enthusiast in the sports betting industry for http://www.instantactionsports.com/uk/

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