August 27, 2007	Monday	Sha’aban 13, 1428

NEW YORK, Aug 26: World No 1 Roger Federer takes aim at his fourth US Open title in a row and 12th career Grand Slam singles crown when the year's last major tournament begins here on Monday at Flushing Meadows.

The 26-year-old Swiss superstar won his 50th career title and fifth of the year last weekend in Cincinnati ahead of the renewal of his quest for the all-time Slam title record of 14 set by Pete Sampras.

Federer has won 11 of the past 13 Slams not played upon the red clay of Roland Garros, including a third Australian Open crown in January and a fifth consecutive Wimbledon title last month.

Add his ATP Masters win at Cincinnati and a Montreal final run that ended with a loss to Serbian Novak Djokovic and Federer arrives at Flushing Meadows flushed with confidence from his top North American hard court tune-up performance.

Helping Federer's cause is the fact that only three prior US Open champions – US star Andy Roddick from 2003, Australian Lleyton Hewitt from 2001 and 2000 winner Marat Safin of Russia – are in this year's field.

Federer is 11-2 in Slam finals but has been unable to crack Rafael Nadal at the French Open finals.

The Spanish world No 2 won his third Roland Garros title in a row, the past two over Federer in the finals, and Nadal also pushed Federer to five sets in a thriller at the Wimbledon finals.

Nadal's quarter-final run here last year was his best in four tries, but he owns an 8-5 career record over Federer if they should both reach the final.

Add third-ranked Djokovic, fourth-rated Russian Nikolay Davydenko, fifth seed Roddick, Cincinnati runner-up James Blake and Australian Open runner-up Fernando Gonzalez of Chile and Federer's bid has some formidable obstacles.

Djokovic made his Open credentials clear by becoming the first man to beat the world's three top players in an ATP title run, defeating Roddick, Nadal and Federer on his way to a Montreal crown that showed he is an Open title threat.

Davydenko, a 2006 US Open semi-finalist, is the subject of a probe into unusual betting patterns around a clay-court match he retired from earlier this month in Sopot.

Roddick won a tune-up at Washington but went only 3-2 in ATP Masters events after that.

Hewitt made a quarter-final run at Montreal and streaked to a Cincinnati semi-final to show he is on form. The Aussie has made at least the US Open final eight for each of the past seven years and the semi-finals five times.

Meanwhile, women's tennis will be looking for a much-needed shot in the arm. The year so far has seen the three Grand Slam titles in Melbourne, Paris and Wimbledon fall flat in disappointingly lopsided finals reigniting the old argument of whether or not women deserve equality in prize funds with their male counterparts.

On top of that, the wave of injuries that have beset the world's top female tennis players has reached new heights with a rash of withdrawals and match retirements.

Coming into New York, the sick list makes dire reading.

Former world No 1 Amelie Mauresmo is already out and pondering her future, the 2005 champion Kim Clijsters has retired and there are serious concerns over the fitness of the Williams sisters, defending champion Maria Sharapova, former world No 1 Martina Hingis, one of the year's revelations Jelena Jankovic and up-and-coming Czech Nicole Vaidisova.

Even world No 1 and top seed Justine Henin is struggling with her fitness despite winning her sixth title of the year at Toronto last Sunday.

The oft-injured Belgian was on the verge of withdrawing from the final in Canada against Jelena Jankovic as she struggled to cope with an inflamed shoulder.

She made a last-minute decision to play through the pain barrier and eventually triumphed in a tough 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 contest.

Henin won the US Open in 2003 and she reached the final for the second time last year only to lose in straight sets to an inspired Maria Sharapova

The Russian glamour girl and flashy New York are the perfect fit and once again what the 20-year-old wears on-court will hit the headlines.

Sharapova has struggled all year first with a stubborn tendonitis in her serving shoulder which sidelined her two months and needed cortisone injections and more recently with a leg strain that saw her withdraw from her semi-final match at Los Angeles earlier this month.

If there are question marks over the two favourites, the uncertainty is total as concerns the Williams sisters.

Venus has played in just the one tournament since her triumph at Wimbledon in July losing in the quarter-finals at Carlsbad at the start of August after which she said she still felt tired.

Serena has been inactive since losing to Henin in the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a troublesome thumb being the latest in a long succession of bodily injuries she has sustained.

Outside last year's finalists and the Williams sisters, the big threat could come from the Serbian pair of Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic who have been two of the most consistent performers on the WTA Tour this year.

Jankovic is also showing signs of wear and tear, complaining of a painful knee after her loss to Henin in Toronto, although Ivanovic is fit and rested following her run into the final of the French Open and semi-finals at Wimbledon.—AFP