The US Open concludes tonight with my pre-tournament tip Rafael Nadal just hours away from capturing his first Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows.
Regular readers will recall I backed the Spanish world No.1 to triumph in New York because the US Open was the only Slam missing from his cv.
Andy Murray (remember him?) was fancied to beat Nadal in the semi-finals and as a result the Spaniard was a crazy 7-2 to win the title! I hope, like me, you were on to that one.
Mallorcan Nadal (1-3, Boylesports, Betfred, Ladbrokes, and William Hill) enters his first Slam final Stateside against world No.3 Novak Djokovic (12-5, Bet365, William Hill) contesting his second final after a defeat to Roger Federer three years ago.
Nadal is in the form of his life in New York and is destined to capture the ninth Grand Slam of his career tonight. In the duo's 21 career meetings the world No.1 has triumphed on 14 occasions and is unbeaten against the Serb in all four of their Slam clashes.
Yet to lose a set in the tournament, the 24-year-old brushed Russian Mikhail Youzhny aside in the semis before Serb star Djokovic needed five sets to see off Federer.
That extra day's rest would have been a huge benefit to Nadal if the final had gone ahead as scheduled on Sunday night as Djokovic was sweating buckets to finally get the better of the Swiss world No.2 after three previous defeats in New York.
The day's delay will give the Serb's fitness a boost but I've backed Nadal throughout and reckon he will be crowned champion without a dropping a set. The Spaniard to dump Djokovic 3-0 is a best-priced 9-5 with Boylesports.
- Nadal 3-0 (9-5 Boylesports)
