Game. Set. Mardy?

Ah alas the time is here. Our fourth and final Grand Slam of the season: the U.S. Open. Tennis season runs from January until September in terms of tournaments that the players prep for and excite the fans most. Beginning in the far west on hard courts, the Australian Open launches the tennis year. As the competitions make their way to the east part of the world, Paris hosts the daring French Open on red clay always thrilling the crowds as the players exemplify fancy footwork and soft hands. Shortly after Paris, the ever-prestigious Wimbledon takes center court in England on the most unpredictable surface: grass. Not your ordinary backyard grass that the husband mows religiously on Saturdays, but royal lawn grass. And then we bring it back on home to the U.S. in none other than the lovely Flushing Meadows, NY. The season starts and finishes the same, with a hard court tournament allowing players to overpower their opponents and fist pump their way to the trophy.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the Grand Slams is that the winner quite often is the least expected (well since Federer has taken a parenting hiatus on the men’s side and Serena pulled out of the U.S. Open). In sports, we all have our favorites and tennis is no different, and while we enjoy a good underdog victory, our hearts still yearn for American victories especially with a home court advantage.

American tennis players have struggled lately to be consistent and perform at Grand Slams. Aside from the well-known Williams sisters and Roddick, the U.S. hasn’t made much wake in the headlines for “W’s” this year. American player highlights have been few and far between with the exception of the “match heard ‘round the world” at Wimbledon where John Isner (USA) defeated Nicolas Mahut (FRA) in the longest match in history.

Until recently that is. Mardy Fish, currently ranked #21, is making moves in the tennis world. Back in 2004, he reached as high as 17^th on the ATP World Tour until suffering various injuries forcing him to sit out for a lengthy period of time. But Fish is back and he’s determined to put U.S. Men’s tennis back on the map. In preparation for the U.S. Open, he reached the finals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Master’s two weeks ago. And he was just shy of a title, losing to Federer in a dynamic third set.

Although his first round match in Flushing Meadows was not a walk in Central Park, he managed to squeak past Jan Hajek (CZE) in a five set thriller. Despite his almost stumble, Fish seems to be a crowd favorite and viable option for the 2010 U.S. Open Champion. Stay tuned over the next two weeks to see just how Fishy Flushing Meadows could get!