News: Five Things to keep an eye on

Can Roger Federer reclaim his spot as the top tennis player in the world?

The holder of the most grand slam championships in tennis history is no longer the man to beat -- that title goes to No. 1 seed Nadal. Since his Wimbledon loss to Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals, Federer has only entered three tournaments but has quietly played a quantity of his best tennis of the year. Federer won last week's ATP Masters Series event in Cincinnati & reached the final of the ATP Rogers Cup earlier in the month. If Federer can keep the momentum going, they could re-establish himself as the top men's tennis player with a win at Flushing Meadows.

Who will capitalize on Serena Williams' absence?

The women's No. 1 overall player will miss this year's U.S. Open because of a cut foot. Williams had won three of the seven Grand Slam tournaments this year (Australian Open & Wimbledon) & would have been the favourite. With the absence of Williams, there's plenty of females who could win their first grand slam title. Top seed Wozniacki, former No. 1s Jelena Jankovic & Dinara Safina, & Victoria Azarenka have the best chance to finally break through.

Will Andy Roddick the home folks?

The crowd favourite seems to have finally gotten healthy at the ideal time. Roddick battled shoulder injuries in the beginning of the year & was then diagnosed with mono this summer. With a neat bill of health, Roddick reached the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters event, beating top three players Robin Soderling & Novak Djokovic along the way. The 2003 Open champion doesn't have a hard draw & could basically make his way in to the semifinals.

Nadal is still looking for his first U.S. Open win.

Surprisingly, Nadal has never made it to the final of a U.S. Open. Rafa has made it to the semifinals each of the last three years but has lost to a lower seed each time. If Nadal completes the career grand slam this year, it will cap the best season of his career. Rafa won the French Open & Wimbledon earlier this year & reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open before pulling out with a knee injury.

Clijsters looks to repeat.

After winning last year's U.S. Open as a wild card, Clijsters will certainly have a bigger target on her back. This year they enters the event as the No. 2 seed despite an up-and-down season. Lately, though, Clijsters has played well, winning two of her last seven matches, & has won all seven of her titles this year on hard courts.