There was absolutely no surprise in my mind when Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova to take home the Gold Medal along with the Wimbledon title and she must now be the huge favourite to win the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open.
I was surprised that Williams was able to win so comfortably as Sharapova was blown off the court and I do think Williams is the real Number 1 in Women's tennis. I don't think she will be able to take that Ranking spot any time before the US Open, but at least Williams' ranking means the top players won't have to face her before the Semi Finals at the earliest unlike twelve months ago when she came in as a dangerous floater in the draw.
The other big news in the tennis World is the fact that Roger Federer has pulled out of the Masters tournament in Toronto which begins on Monday- that means there is a chance that he may drop the World Number 1 Ranking, but it is unlikely and he should be back in action at Cincinnati. Federer stated too much tennis on the schedule, including the London Olympics, and I don't think it is a massive surprise to the organisers in Toronto that this has happened as they had already made changes to the tournament to ensure the top 16 all receive First Round byes.
Rafael Nadal is another player that won't be at the event having pulled out with the injury that saw him miss the Olympic Games- that is more worrying as I am beginning to have real doubts about whether the Spaniard plays in the final Grand Slam of the season at Flushing Meadows and perhaps will then think about shutting down for the rest of the season including missing the End of Year Championships in London.
Nadal is in real danger of dropping further in the Rankings with Andy Murray playing as well as anyone at the moment and fears are once again prominent that his knees just won't cope with the demands of top level tennis unless he makes serious changes to the way he works his schedule during the clay court swing.
I guess we can only sit and wait on the Spaniard at the moment and see whether he takes his place in the draw in Cincinnati which will begin a week on Monday and is the last real chance for the top players to get some hard court practice ahead of the US Open.
Novak Djokovic - 3.5 games v Juan Martin Del Potro: I might be missing the point here, but Juan Martin Del Potro has to be mentally and physically exhausted after his exploits in the Semi Final and I think that will cost him his chance of winning a Medal from this Olympic Games.
Del Potro put in so much in his loss to Roger Federer which lasted well over four hours that it is hard to see how he will have the energy in this one against a player in Novak Djokovic that he trails 1-4 in the head to head.
Granted Del Potro won their last meeting when Djokovic was forced to retire with an injury in a Davis Cup tie just days after winning the US Open title last year, but the Serb had lost just one of the eleven previous sets they had competed against one another.
I will say that Djokovic has not played that well this week and has not looked himself since losing at the French Open while the whole of 2012 has been tough to replicate the form he showed last year. However, I just think he is the fresher of the two players and Djokovic will be desperate for a Medal for his country and I think he is going to be a little too good for Del Potro in this one.
MY PICK: Novak Djokovic - 3.5 games @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Weekly Update: 10-9, + 2.32 Units (37 Units Staked)
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