US Open draw released – Federer and Nadal on opposite ends of the draw

Flushing Meadows, New York – In the lead up to the 2009 US Open draw ceremony, tennis bettors and experts alike, excitedly entertained the possibility Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal would fall into the same half of the draw, while at the same time, Federer-Nadal-rivalry addicts decried the prospect, upset they might be denied another chapter of the duo’s scintillating opposition in the finals of Grand Slams.

Well, the men’s singles draw released on Thursday afternoon revealed Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal were to be on opposite ends after all, putting to bed all speculation that came because of change in the established rankings order when Murray moved into the world No.2 spot causing Nadal to slip to an ignominious No.3.

For the first time since the Australian Open in 2006, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are not the top two seeds at a Grand Slam. For a long time it was that, Federer was the No.1 seed and Nadal the No.2 seed. It was so for such a long time that all began to expect it as they would expect coffee with their breakfast in the morning.

Last summer, just in time for the 2008 US Open, they reversed roles when Nadal overhauled Federer from his perch atop the ATP ranks. The Spaniard entered the US Open then as the No.1 seed and Federer the No.2 seed. This order continued through the 2009 season into the Australian Open and up to the French Open when Nadal lost in the last 16 to you-know-who.

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Nadal’s knee tendinitis and a decision to withdraw from Wimbledon, together with Roger Federer winning both the French Open and Wimbledon caused the established order to slip back to the old ways when Federer was world No.1 and Nadal the world No.2.

Their synergy did not last long however because when Nadal decided to take time off to rest his knees, he involuntarily created an opportunity fit for an opportunistic player to take advantage. And so a player did. Andy Murray, not one to stare a gift horse in the mouth, capitalized on the opportunity at the Montreal Masters capping a successful week by winning the title. Granted Rafael Nadal by then was back in action but he was visibly rusty and off form and by then also, Murray was a man on a mission. Even a tough competitor like Nadal could not have prevented his fated slip.

Immediately afterwards, at the Cincinnati Masters, Nadal received an opportunity to readdress the order in his favour after Murray was dumped out of the tournament early. However, we cannot really fault Nadal far falling in the semis to Novak Djokovic. To reach the quarters at Montreal and the semis in Cincinnati – his first two tournaments back from injury – is a sign that he is heading in the right direction and he just might be in fine fettle in New York. Maybe even surprise everyone by winning the whole thing.

So Nadal is the No.3 seed now, behind Federer and Murray. Who cares? Sure there was a 50% chance that Nadal would fall into Federer’s half of the draw but he didn’t, falling instead into Murray’s half. I don’t see that it would have mattered either way really, because Nadal has a winning record against both players. You can also add Novak Djokovic to his list of players he owns. Heck, throw in Andy Roddick and Juan Martin Del Potro as well. In the end, it doesn’t matter where a player of Federer, or Nadal’s calibre falls because the two are proven Grand Slam champions many times over and we expect them to handle all manner of obstacles. May the better player win!