Dare I say it? Dare I even utter the words that a Brit will win a major tennis tournament?

Blasphemy, you say, heresy even but if England can be the top Test cricket nation in the world, anything is possible in this topsy-turvy sporting universe.

And the Scotsman (definitely not an Englishman) has a good a chance as anyone when the US Open swings away at Flushing Meadows on Monday.

World No 1 Novak Djokovic is starting to show the effects of a brilliant but brutal campaign this year that has seen him to a phenomenal record of 57-2 with nine ATP titles, including the Aussie Open and Wimbledon crowns.

However, he pulled out of the Cincinnati Masters final last week against Andy Murray while trailing 6-4 3-0, claiming a combination of fatigue and a sore shoulder - not exactly ideal preparation going into the final Grand Slam event of the year.

Fellow ironman Rafael Nadal also appears to have gone off the boil and looks like he just needs a good couple of weeks rest on the beaches of Mallorca.

Don't tell the final member of the Big Four, Roger Federer, that his career is in decline, but it is. It's not a precipitous fall the 30-year-old can still swing away with the best of 'em, but age and kids are slowly catching up with him and he hasn't won a major since the Australian Open in 2010.

That leaves the Scot, the only one of that quartet to not have won a slam event, as probably the best, fittest and hungriest player in the men's draw.

He's certainly got the game to win it all, but does he have the mindset?

On the ladies' side, it seems like Serena Williams' (who is seeded 28!) event to lose, although her body is starting to betray her more and more as she moves nearer the end than the start of a stellar career.

Of course, all Chinese eyes will be focused on French Open champion Li Na, but it seems like she celebrated with a bit too much of the fizzy stuff after her Paris triumph and is suffering the effects of a grand hangover.

If, like Murray, she is mentally tuned in, she can make a deep run on the hard courts which should be a perfect fit for her hard-hitting game. Li is in the same quarter of the draw as No 1 seed Caroline Wozniacki, but the young Dane continues to flatter to deceive on tennis's biggest stages.

Unseeded Venus Williams is a dangerous floater in the bottom half of the draw, but if I were a gambling man - and if it were legal in China - I'd put a few of my hard-earned "chairmans" down on Maria Sharapova, the beaten Wimbledon finalist who has battled back from several years' worth of injuries and is one of the few players who seems to be getting stronger as the season winds down.

Tym Glaser is a senior sports copy editor who may have been seen at Hong Kong's Shatin racetrack on one or two occasions. He can be contacted at tymglaser@hotmail.com

(China Daily 08/30/2011 page23)