US Open Series: Who will be affected?

By Melanie Schumilas | Jul 22, 2015

Tennis is coming back to North America after months abroad, thanks to the esteemed Emirates Airline US Open Series. The top players in the world will take to the blazing-hot hard courts to warm up for the final Grand Slam of the year.

Last summer, the biggest tournaments in North America produced some shocking champions. Let’s take a look at which players within the Top 10 have the most to lose and the most to gain during this outdoor hard-court swing.

Most to Lose

World No. 8 Milos Raonic was in fine form last summer, charging ahead to capture the Emirates Airline US Open Series Bonus Challenge with 280 points.

He opened up the summer hard-court swing with a win at the Masters 500 in Washington, and then followed that up with a quarterfinal appearance at his hometown, Toronto, and a semifinal in Cincinnati. He then made it to the round of 16 at the US Open before losing to eventual finalist, No. 4 Kei Nishikori.

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The Canadian chalked up 1220 points over these four tournaments, which is a considerable amount to defend. Factor in his nagging foot injury that caused him to miss the French Open and the Davis Cup tie against Belgium, Raonic is surely not in the most favorable position to recapture the points from last year.

These next few weeks are especially important for Raonic considering he sits a distant 11th place in the Emirates ATP Race to London Rankings. He’s a whopping 1,135 points behind eighth place Rafael Nadal.

As a Canadian, I hope Raonic – armed with his big serve, trusty sleeve and perfectly gelled hair – can repeat last year’s deep runs and remain within the elusive Top 10.

No. 9 Marin Cilic and Nishikori have a lot to defend as well. The duo shocked practically everyone by making the finals of the US Open, marking the first final without a member of the Big Four in a decade.

Cilic is in grave danger of dropping out of the Top 10. He currently has 3,540 points and 2,000 of those come from his unexpected US Open title. After amassing a meek 14-10 record in the first half of the season, the Croat is a distant 22nd in the Emirates ATP Race to London Rankings. With no chance of making the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, he better cling to his Top 10 ranking for as long as he can.

Nishikori has 1,200 points to defend as the finalist, but after missing the Masters 1000 in Toronto and Cincinnati due to a leg injury, he has big opportunities to make up the difference. The Japanese No. 1 sits at a comfortable No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Race to London Rankings, so unless he’s plagued by an injury again, it doesn’t look like Nishikori will be exiting the top tier anytime soon.

Most to Gain

Currently, Nadal is ranked No. 10, his lowest ranking in more than a decade. But, he has a clean slate going into the North American hard court swing.

Last year, the Spaniard missed the two biggest warm-up tournaments and the US Open due to various injuries. Without any points to defend, Nadal has a chance to silence all the haters and rack up some major points to potentially move up the Emirates ATP Rankings.

This blessed opportunity will also give him the chance to further pull away from Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon, who are a next in line in the Emirates ATP Race to London Rankings.

Although Simon is not a Top 10 player, he’s worth the mention. No. 11 Simon is a definite threat to Nadal. The Frenchman has had a stellar year thus far, gathering a 33-11 record and he’s breathing down Nadal’s neck with only a 235-point difference in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Simon didn’t have a great run at the two Masters 1000s last year, failing to make it past the third round. This is also an opportunity for him to capitalize on Nadal’s vulnerability and potentially overtake the Spaniard in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Next: Davis Cup: Great Britain set up Australia semi final

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