I think that the 2008 Olympics will have an interesting impact on the results of the 2008 U.S. Open. Normally, in a non-Olympic year, some players would have played a low-key tournament or perhaps have taken some time off to rest up. However, my guess is that players who chose to play in the Olympics must be feeling the effects of a long year of tennis and having played quite a few tournaments. Rafael Nadal has had a dream season - winning Wimbledon, the French Open, a gold medal in Beijing, as well as many, many other big-name tournaments. I believe Nadal will go further this year than he ever has before (he has only been as far as the quarterfinals previously) and stands a good chance of winning it all. I think the only thing that can undermine him is fatigue and any possible physical ailments he may be feeling from such a long year of competition. The scenario becomes even more interesting when Roger Federer is thrown into the mix. Federer obviously has had something of a down year, failing to win any Grand Slam tournaments up until this point. The fact that he won a gold medal in men's doubles at the Olympics should help to boost his mindset heading into the tournament (which he has won the last four years). Federer will definitely be looking for redemption, so he simply cannot be underestimated. Novak Djokovic has been playing solid tennis, winning his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open. He will go far. RIght now, I would guess that Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and perhaps James Blake or Andy ROddick will end up as the quarterfinalists. Nadal-Federer would obviously be a dream final, but we shall see how it all turns out.

On the women's side -- Maria Sharapova droppped out of the tournament due to injury. The great Justine Henin retired earlier this year. Look for the Williams sisters to go far, as they sparkled at Wimbledon and have been playing superb tennis of late. I think at least one Williams sister is a lock to make the final. Ana Ivanovic and Svetlana Kutsenova should also go far. It's going to be a great tournament.