Preview of the US Open series: The contenders

5. Kei Nishikori

A lot is expected from Kei Nishikori this hard court season after finishing as the runner-up to Marin Cilic in Flushing Meadows 11 months ago. He avenged his loss in a three-set win over the Croat in the semifinals of the Citi Open yesterday.

The Japanese is making a comeback to the tour after withdrawing from his second round match at Wimbledon due to calf injury. He is looking to win his third title of the season in Washington after wins in Memphis and Barcelona.

Nishikori pulled off a great upset at the 2014 US Open by taking out World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets in the semifinals. His game is more aggressive at the moment and with fitness no longer being an issue, expect him to make at least the semifinals in New York this year.

4. Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka proved to everyone that his Australian Open win last year wasn’t a flash in the pan by reigning supreme at Roland Garros. Magnus Norman has played a huge role in helping Wawrinka over the line at critical junctures at business end of tournaments.

Wawrinka is seen by many as the only player who can stop Novak Djokovic from winning a tournament. He showed that in Paris by playing incredible tennis from being a set down in the final. Although his Wimbledon campaign came to an end in the quarterfinals, the Swiss is always a danger on the hard courts.

He is seeded 3 at Rogers Cup in Montreal and a win would give the Swiss all the confidence in the world as he aims to win Grand Slam Number 3 in New York.

3. Andy Murray

After claiming his first Major in New York in 2012, Andy Murray added another Grand Slam to his tally at Wimbledon the next year. He beat Novak Djokovic in both those finals. The Scot hasn’t tasted much success in Majors ever since losing to Djokovic on more occasions than one in Grand Slams.

He has made it to semifinals or better at each of the three Grand Slams this year and is a strong contender to win his third Major at Flushing Meadows. Murray’s American hard court season campaign got off to a worst possible start as he lost in the second round to Teymuraz Gabashvili.

He is scheduled to play in Montreal and Cincinnati before the US Open. The Scot continues to stumble against Djokovic although he pushed him to five sets in the Roland Garros semifinals. He has added more aggression to his game thanks to Amelie Mauresmo and Jonas Bjorkman. Will be able to finish off matches against the likes of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic?

If he can find a way past these two, he is on his way to his second title in New York.

2. Roger Federer

Roger Federer’s search for Grand Slam No. 18 continues. The Swiss had a dream run in Wimbledon earlier this year only to be stopped by Serbian juggernaut Novak Djokovic.

After a slump in 2013, Federer has had a remarkable 18 months or so, including two Major finals (Wimbledon 2014, 2015). He took a break after Wimbledon and has pulled out of the Montreal Masters to concentrate on the fast hard courts of Cincinnati, where he has won a record six times.

Federer came undone by the brilliance of Marin Cilic at last year’s US Open, but he has every chance of bettering that result as he looks to add sixth US Open to his Grand Slam tally.

1. Novak Djokovic

The World No. 1 is on a mission this year. He has won every major title apart from French Open (lost to Stan Wawrinka) and comes to the hard court season fresh and raring to go.

Cincinnati is the only Masters 1000 title missing from Djokovic’s trophy cabinet. He practiced in Monte Carlo with friend Viktor Troicki before arriving in Montreal. It will be interesting to see how the long break affects Djokovic, whose last competitive match was the Wimbledon final nearly a month ago.

The Serb is currently second on the list of most Masters 1000 titles (24). A win in Montreal will tie his own record for most Masters titles won in a year(5).

It looks like some one should play a perfect match to get the better of Djokovic at the moment.