The hard courts at Flushing Meadows will see hard-hitting shots and master strokes as the world’s best players descend upon it to play the US Open. The third tennis Grand Slam of the year, which will be held from August 29 to September 11 is a much-awaited event. With Novak Djokovic’s number one ranking giving tough competition to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, this is going to be one thrilling tournament.
Pranav Manpuria, who’s studying at St Joseph’s College, is a huge Nadal fan. “From the time I started watching tennis, I’ve been an ardent follower of Nadal. I prefer him over Federer. Djokovic is awesome too. The story of how he came from a small place to become world number one is remarkable,” he says.
Among the women, he supports Maria Sharapova. “Even though she lost last time, I still support her,” he says, adding, “The US Open is going to me amazing because of the awesome threesome Nadal, Federer and Nole. The smaller players too deserve to be there, but it won’t be exciting if these three are missing in action.”
For management student Maithreyi Mohan, it always was and always will be Roger Federer who’s her favourite. “I want to see him back in his winning form. My second favourite is Djokovic — I’ve never supported Nadal! I want to see Federer beat everybody. He doesn’t have stamina like before, but I hope he bucks up.”
She wants to see underdogs like Tsonga, Murray and Blake to come up. “I’d like to see a lot of tie-breakers,” says Maithreyi.
She’s also a fan of the Williams sisters and likes them
both equally. “I hope Venus gets back. They both are excellent players and I think Serena should be allowed to play with the men!” she quips, adding, “I also want to see Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi back.”
A major upset is what student Karthik R is looking forward to. “An underrated player beating one of the top-ranked players would be a delight. I’m going to root for Tsonga.”
It’s ‘love all’ time, folks!