It’s hard to argue against the fact that Roger Federer is the favour­ite for the US Open title.

The Swiss has been the in-form player heading into New York and has been given a great opportunity to chase a remark­able 18th slam.

Rafael Nadal’s absence and a very favourable draw have placed Federer as a frontrunner.

Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga all lie in the opposite half of the draw leav­ing Federer to contend with Grigor Dimitrov in his quarter, and David Ferrer in his half.

It is the best case scenario for Fe­derer considering the alternatives and a chance like this is unlikely to present itself again.

Granted, Djokovic can never be discarded from the favourite conversation, but you get the sense that Federer’s entire season, which saw him win three titles and rack up 49 wins, has been building up to this very moment.

Djokovic has seemed distracted since his wedding the week after winning the Wimbledon, while Federer has only got sharper.

I have to admit that a scenario where Federer and Serena Wil­liams each capture an 18th Grand Slam this fortnight would have quite the poetic nuance.

Still, there are other storylines we should look out for this US Open…

Victoria Azarenka

A runner-up in New York the last two years, Azarenka is down to No17 in the world courtesy of a three-month absence and injuries. Now is the time to get a look of what the Belarusian is really made of. Is she ready to fight her way back to the top?

Ernests Gulbis
The polarising Latvian hasn’t won back-to-back matches since mak­ing the French Open semi-finals. We always knew Gulbis was a headcase, but he seemed to be getting his act together prior to Roland Garros. Can he now finally find any semblance of consistency?

Eugenie Bouchard
It appears the Canadian’s confi­dence had taken a bit of a hit after she was schooled by Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final. She claims she was “born confi­dent” but her performance this US Open will shed some more light on how she’ll rebound from that loss.

Petra Kvitova
Speaking of Kvitova, she has never fared well in New York. It seems the city’s buzzing nature doesn’t go well with her understated charac­ter. But she just won New Haven. Can she capitalise on that? After all, she’s one of the very few who can hold her own against Serena.