OK, it's obvious to everyone that modern day women's tennis is a lot more 'open' than the men's game. The women's side may lack the equivalent a Roger Federer or a Rafael Nadal, but maybe this is a good thing.

This means that as we head into the final Grand Slam of the year, we are more than likely going to witness a surprise winner from the ladies side, as opposed to the predictable winner from the mens. As we take a glance at the top 20 best female players, sevenare former Grand Slam champions. So already we have seven players capable of winning the tournament. They are joined, realistically, by seven or eight others capable of springing a surprise.

This is in comparison to the men's side, where we have three former Grand Slam champions in the top 20, although it is only fair to acknowledge that both Lleyton Hewitt and Marat Safin are ranked 21 and 22 respectively. And while seven or eight others have a realistic chance, there is one slight problem - the man by the name of Roger Federer.

'Being realistic, I think there are only two players out there who can beat Federer in a Grand Slam and they are Nadal and a mentally in-form Safin'


Let's look a little deeper. Former Grand Slam champions on the women's side are Justine Henin, current US champions Maria Sharapova, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Amelie Mauresmo, Venus and Serena Williams and last, but certainly not least, Martina Hingis. Six of these women have won the US Open. The potential outside champions would include youngsters such as Ana Ivanovic, Anna Chakvetadze and Nicole Vaidisova - but also joining the rank would be Jelena Jankovic, Marion Bartoli, Elena Dementieva and possibly Daniela Hantuchova. Any of these women, when playing their best, have the chance of winning this title.  

On the men's side we have Federer, Nadal and Andy Roddick. OK, I am going to include both Hewitt and Safin, just to make it a little more interesting. Four out of these five are former US Open champions. Federer has clearly dominated the game over the past five years, his only competition coming from Nadal. But let's remind ourselves of the 2005 semi-finals in Australia when Marat Safin came from match points down to beat Federer. Other potential upsets could be caused by Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, Andy Murray and possibly a few others. But being realistic I think there are only two players out there who can beat Federer in a Grand Slam and they are Nadal and a mentally in-form Safin.

So looking for the favourites? It's really hard to look past Federer for the men's title, although if Nadal puts his mind to it I believe he has what it takes to take down the big man. Depending on which Marat turns up, a mentally indestructible Safin has the game to beat Federer. I don't think there is another complete player who has a weapon strong enough to cause Federer any harm.

The women's is much more difficult to pick. We have learned at this stage that we cannot dismiss the William sisters, although Venus's recent lost to Chakvetadze in San Diego, and Serena's lack of match play since Wimbledon are built-in factors. Despite the controversy that constantly surrounds them, they remain possibly two of the greatest players who have ever graced the courts.

Justine Henin is my pick for the title. She ran out of steam against Bartoli at Wimbledon, but to me has everything a player needs to win. Of course, it would be unfair to completely dismiss defending champion and world No 2 Maria Sharapova who, despite having a bad year by her standards, remains one of the most consistent players on tour. Having said this, any of the other players that I mentioned earlier could cause problems to any of these players.

Grand Slam time is always an exciting time. But even with all our analysis and predictions it is all about who plays the best game on the day.I think there is one thing that will be guaranteed, we can expect a fortnight of great tennis!