'Big Four' set to slug it out for US Open

​If the experts are right, only four men have a realistic chance of winning this year's US Open, but that alone is cause for celebration.

Just four players from a field of 128 professionals might seem like slim pickings, but after what has transpired over most of the last decade, the Aug. 29-Sept. 11 tournament is looming as one of the most open grand slams in years.

For most of that time, just two players, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal, have been given any real hope of lifting the major trophies, with Federer winning a record 16 grand slam titles and Nadal 10. Between the 2005 French Open and last year's US Open, they won 19 of the 21 grand slam finals.

But things have changed this year and their domination has ended, at least temporarily.

In Image: John McEnroe and Rafael Nadal of Spain smile alongside the Men's U.S. Open trophy after participating in the Draw Ceremony prior to the start of the 2011 U.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 25, 2011

Text: Reuters

Images: AFP

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