Well, something's stirring behind the sheltered walls at Islesworth Country Club in Orlando.

Hank Haney was in there last weekend. Guess who he was hanging out with?

Could it be Eldrick T. Woods?

Yes, he is working on his game and the master mechanic was there for a tuneup.

There's been a lot of "tuning" going on and a comeback is on the horizon.

Tiger Woods is preparing for his return to competitive golf. It's coming sooner than later and there are two men who know:  Haney and IMG's secret agent man Mark Steinberg, aka Stiney.

Now that Haney has been on the scene, you know that he knows.

Stiney was hanging out at Doral this week. You know that he knows.

They both know.

Best bet?

How about the IMG-controlled Bay Hill Classic? Woods can sneak over there in 15 minutes, drive through the back way and voila, you've got yourself a return to golf.

You know Arnold's down with it. Palmer is the perfect host for a Woods return.

It all makes too good an opportunity for Woods to pass up.

But you can dash all that "no one knows" speculation.

Haney knows. Stiney knows.

But they're not talking.

Yet.

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

Earlier this week the PGA Tour and Ping reached an agreement that has allowed the Tour to finally ban the square-grooved Ping Eye 2 wedges from play on Tour for good.

The ban is also in effect on the Nationwide and Champions Tour as well.

The clubs up until now have been able to be used in play by being grandfathered in under a rule saying that any Ping wedge manufactured before April 1, 1990, is approved for play under a legal settlement from over 20 years ago.

In February PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem met with the players to discuss possible rule changes on these clubs and why they were "legal" at the time.

"The assumption was made last year that very few, if any, players would use that club because they're 20 years old," Finchem said. "I think we underestimated that a little bit."

Yes, yes you did, Mr. Finchem.

Did you honestly believe that in this day and age of sport and competition that golfers would not want every advantage they could find or get their hands on to help them win a golf tournament?

The debate hit the mainstream media when Scott McCarron called out Phil Mickelson for being a cheater if he continued to use the clubs.

The much-publicized cries of cheating that came from McCarron about Mickelson carrying the then-legal club in his bag have fueled the debate that he and others are going against the spirit of the new rule and the game itself.

Ping chairman and CEO John Solheim said this in his statement, "We all believe it is in the best interests of golf. It levels the playing field on the PGA Tour and resolves a very unfortunate situation that we predicted would happen when the USGA first proposed the new groove rule more than two years ago."

The 20-year-old Ping Eye 2 wedges have more space between the grooves than allowed under the 2010 rule, but were deemed conforming due to the lawsuit between Pin and the PGA Tour.

PGA players were mandated to conform to the new groove rules on Jan. 1 of this year which saw the spaces between the grooves narrowed. Though this change was highly technical, it simply meant the players would not be able to generate the spin on the ball they were used to doing.

Now that the suit has been settled, the new rule banning these clubs will go into effect beginning on March 29, meaning technically Tour players could still use them at this week's event the WGC-CA Championship at Doral in Miami.

"John Solheim and Ping had a terrific opportunity to do something very positive and significant for the game of golf and we very much appreciate his willingness to take this action," PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement.

So now no one can point the finger at another player and accuse them of cheating even if they were well within their rights to use the clubs before this suit was settled.

To me, this should have never gotten to this point and the PGA and Ping should have seen this would happen and put a stop to this 20 years ago. But as always, hindsight is 20/20.

Quotes were used from The Associated Press in this report.

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

Paul Casey: With six Top-11 finishes in his last seven events, few players on tour have been more consistent over the past two months than Paul Casey.

Casey lost in the finals of the World Match-Play Championship three weeks ago, and tied for fourth at last week’s Honda Classic where he also tied the course record with a 64 in round two.

Although still fine tuning his game after missing a large portion of last season due to a rib injury, Casey is inching closer to his top form.  He may not be quite ready to win this week, but it would be surprising if he doesn’t notch yet another Top-10 finish.

Nick Watney: With two Top-10 finishes in his first six events, Watney is off to a solid, but not exceptional start to the 2010 season.

The Blue Monster course at Doral is a bomber’s paradise, which sets up perfectly for Watney who finished second behind Phil Michelson at the 2009 WGC-CA Championship.

Over the past two years, Watney has shown occasional signs that he is on the brink of reaching that upper echelon of the PGA Tour.  A win this week would certainly catapult him up the FedEx Cup point standings as well as the World Golf rankings.

Long shot: Soren Hanson

Just in case you haven’t turned on a golf tournament over the past two years, here’s a news flash for you—the Europeans are rising and rising rapidly up the World Golf rankings.

Ian Poulter cruised to victory at the first World Golf Championship of the 2010 season, and it would come as no surprise if another European walked off with the second WGC title this week.

Soren Hanson, of Denmark, may be unknown to all but avid golf fans, but this guy can play.

With four Top-10 finishes in his last seven events, Hanson is now ranked 45h in the world and could be a solid addition to Colin Montgomerie’s 2010 European Ryder Cup team.

Hanson averages 295.2 yards off the tee this year, so he should feel right at home on the Blue Monster course.

He may be a long shot to win this week, but don’t be surprised if we get to know Hanson a lot better over the coming weeks and months.

Winner: Anthony Kim

Anthony Kim has been one or two mistakes away from winning his last two events.

Kim was in contention after two rounds at the Waste Management Phoenix Open before finding the water twice on the 15th hole during his third round and dropping back to an eventual 24th place finish.

Kim managed to finish second at last week’s Honda Classic despite closing the third round with three consecutive bogeys.

All though we’ve heard it before from more than a few players, Kim has said numerous times that he is “close” to putting it all together.

If Kim can avoid those few mistakes that have cost the last two events, he could walk away with his third PGA Tour win this week at Doral.

Back-to-back wins by Kim and Camilo Villegas with Tiger Woods’ return likely coming within a matter of weeks?

Things may be about to heat up on the PGA Tour.

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

Nicklaus, Palmer, Sneed and Woods are some of the names that automatically jump out at you from years gone by and even today.

As of late however, the PGA seems to have been taken over and dominated by foreign born players.

Now I am not saying this is a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. It is just a curious look into what has taken place in the past year on the PGA tour and the evolution of change at the top of the world golf rankings with foreign born players.

As of March 7th, 2010 there are only five American born players inside the top 15 of the official world golf rankings. The top three spots are American born players in Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker, and Phil Mickelson (in order), but the fact remains the foreign players occupy more spots near the top of the rankings.

To further the point of foreign born players beginning to dominate the PGA tour, you can look back to last season when two of the four majors were won by non American players.

The Masters was won by Argentina's Angel Cabrera and the PGA Championship by South Korea's Y.E. Yang.

Already in the 2010 PGA Tour season we have seen three foreign born players have wins under their belts with Jeff Ogilvy, Ian Poulter and Camilo Villegas. All of whom are inside the top 15 players according to the official world golf rankings.

Now obviously there have been American players winning on tour for some time and this year is no different as we head into Doral this weekend with Phil Mickelson as the defending champion.

But the facts show that foreign born players are beginning to win with more consistency now more so than before.

You can also see from the money list so far this season that there are six American players in the top 10 and seven in the top 10 of the FedEx Cup points as well.

But I know it has to be on the mind of many golf fans here in the U.S. and around the world to see so many foreign born players atop the world golf rankings and winning consistently on the PGA Tour on American soil.

Again, I am not saying this is a bad thing by any means. I happen to think it is great for the game of golf to have such a diverse range of players in the top 15 of the world golf rankings as well as winning tournaments.

This is especially true for the casual fan who tunes in just to see news or play from the world’s No. 1 Tiger Woods, who has yet to tee it up this year at all.

So intriguing storylines are what the tour needs right about now without its “marquee” player playing this year.

You can see a drop off in fans in other individual sports such as NASCAR where it has seen the same driver; Jimmy Johnson, win four straight Sprint Cup championships. To me, dynasty's of any kind are never good for the sport as a whole especially for the growth of that sport to new fans.

I mean why would someone tune in to NASCAR now when they pretty much know that Jimmy Johnson will most likely win the 'Chase' at the end of the year anyway?

I believe this trend we are seeing in golf is a very good thing for the growth of the sport to reach out to the "casual" fan and say that although Tiger Woods may not be in the field, you never know who is going to come from behind or surprise you to win a tournament out here.

All the internationally born players having so much success on the PGA Tour has provided us with a true international event every week which can only spell continued growth and success for professional golf.

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

Mercedes is not the only iconic name which is returning to the sport but the greatest driver of our era and maybe the sport as well is returning but not with Ferrari but Michael Schumacher will make his dramatic comeback with the Silver Arrow Mercedes team where he will team up with Ross Brawn once again and this was the combination which resulted him all of his seven Championships, five with Ferrari and two with Benetton.

Names like Schumacher and Mercedes will overshadow others but then Cosworth is back after a disastrous 2006 season while the Senna names returns to the grid in the form of Bruno Senna, the nephew of the legendary Ayrton Senna a former three-team World Champion who died in a crash during the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix.  

Though the Lotus name returns, this outfit has no connection to the Colin Chapman led outfit. The only connection is that the group which owns the current Lotus team also owns Lotus Cars.

Though last season Brawn surprised everyone and won the Championship largely due to a loophole in the regulations and had it not been for the double diffuser, then Red Bull may have won it but this season Brawn which is Mercedes now will face a very stiff challenge from Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren.

Mercedes may not go into the season as hot favorites, and though the team does not expect to win right away and would take time, but if Schumacher comes out of retirement, then he is in for wins only.

Though publicly the team may deny it will take time, Mercedes and Schumacher could be on track for wins right from the first race while teammate Rosberg after polishing his skills in the under-powered and under-funded Williams, he finally can prove his potential and show that he can win races.

Red Bull last season’s runner-up is tipped to have the fastest car and with Vettel & Webber behind the wheel, they the only top team to have the same lineup and Vettel is tipped for greater things while Webber who is 33 now may have him last chance at going for the Championship and he could be the dark horse for this season.

Ferrari after a disastrous 2009 did stop work on their 2009 car and started work on their 2010 car before everyone else and with Alonso joining the team, the Latin era begins for Ferrari with Massa coming back after his injuries, this season if both Alonso and Massa can work as a team, Ferrari will be challenging for the titles this season right from the first race.

McLaren has a British super team with Hamilton and Button but with what happened when Hamilton teamed up with Alonso, things may not be as smooth as it seems as Button will take sometime getting used to the car and crew while by then Hamilton will have a good enough lead over him to relegate Button to the No. 2 driver status. Also the ruling on the wing will play a part at their campaign early on this season.

Williams has a strong lineup with the experienced Barrichello along with the GP2 Champion Hulkenberg and with Cosworth proving to be consistent maybe not be far off behind the top four while Sauber after taking buying back the team from BMW may not pull off a Brawn but could be the surprise package of the season as they have a car which has the best tire management so far.

Renault will be led by the mercurial Kubica who given the right car can go wheel to wheel with anyone while Vitaly Petrov has to prove that he is in more for his talent rather then the money he brings with him. Force India is looking forward to 2010 as the break through season for the team while Toro Rosso building a car for the first time on their own since the Minardi days may provide the biggest surprise of this lot.

Though Lotus and Virgin managed to run the car on the tracks but Hispanic will be running the car for the first time during the race weekend and if the car is slow it may prove to be dangerous for all the other teams who are not far off from each other in terms of speed.

The Bahrain Grand Prix will be the first of many exciting races we will have this season and the return of marquee names will provide more excitement to the season.

Bahrain GP Top 10 Predictions

1. Sebastien Vettel
2. Fernando Alonso
3. Mark Webber
4. Felipe Massa
5. Lewis Hamilton
6. Michael Schumacher
7. Nico Rosberg
8. Jenson Button

9. Kamui Kobayashi

10. Nico Hulkenberg

Read more Formula 1 news on BleacherReport.com

If we have a big house, we want a bigger one.

If we have a lot of money, we want more of it.

And we are no different when it comes to professional spots.

As we watch a dominant athlete or team perform, we want to know who the next great athlete or team will be.

As much as we discuss our desire to see parity, competition, and rivalries, sports are never more popular than during the era of a dominant athlete or team.

Basketball was never more popular than it was during the '90s when the Chicago Bulls were dominating the game.

Baseball was never more popular than when the Yankees were dominating the sport in the late '90s.

Boxing was never more popular than during the eras of Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson’s.

And golf has never been more popular than during this present Tiger Woods era.

Instead of sitting back, relaxing and enjoying the fact that we are witnessing the career of arguably the most dominant golfer the game has ever produced, we are spending a significant amount of time asking ourselves who will be the next Tiger Woods?

Which one of the young guns is going to step up and become golf’s next big thing?

We want that warm fuzzy feeling that can only come with knowing that things are going to be ok down the road; only in this case the future may not be as bright as we would like.

At the moment, golf has a plethora of exciting young players.

We have Rory McIlroy, Ryo Ishikawa, Martin Kaymer, Anthony Kim, Camilo Villegas, Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Paul Casey and many others.

It’s a time reminiscent of the late '80s-late '90s: a lot of great players, yet there’s the absence of that dominant, record breaking force.

Between 1987 and 1997, the game of golf was filled with unbelievably talented players.

We had Greg Norman, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Payne Stewart, Curtis Strange, Nick Price, Tom Lehman, Fred Couples, etc.

If you want competition and parity, it didn’t get much better than the ten year span between 1987 and 1997.

Norman, Faldo, Ballesteros, Price, Lehman, etc. were constantly battling it out for major championship titles. There were rivalries and sudden death playoffs galore.

Yet the game’s popularity took a nose dive during this period.

How could that be?

Well, like many sports, golf is far more popular when there is a dominant force in the game.

We are ultimately lying to ourselves when we say that we’d rather see parity, intense competition and rivalries than a dominant force.  If that were the case, the late '80s through the early '90s would be considered golf’s golden age rather than its dark age.

If it’s parity that we’re after, why did golf’s popularity spike when Woods began dominating the game in the late '90s? Shouldn’t Woods’ domination of the PGA Tour have had the opposite effect on the game’s level of popularity?

If it’s parity that we’re after, why are we constantly asking ourselves who is going to be the next Tiger Woods?  Wouldn’t we want to avoid another Tiger Woods at all costs?

If it’s parity that we’re after wouldn’t the days of Walter Hagen, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods completely dominating the game be seen as “bad” times for golf?

It’s anyone’s guess when Woods will decide to return to professional golf.

But here’s a bit of advice to all you “parity seekers”: When Woods does return, sit back and enjoy what you’re seeing because you may not be completely satisfied with the next era in professional golf.

In a mere 10 years we may very well be thrust back to the PGA Tour of the late '80s...and we all remember just how exciting that was.   

Read more Golf news on BleacherReport.com

For only the second time since 1996, Australia won't be hosting the first race. As in 2006, Bahrain gets that honour, which is a shame as Melbourne usually throws up a good race, and I do quite enjoy getting up at early o'clock for F1. It makes it feel special as a season opener.

Anyway, Bahrain. It's been part of the calendar since 2004, and was the first race to be held in the Middle East. The facilities at the track weren't quite finished for the first race, but it went ahead anyway. Up until this year, the layout of the track had remained the same.

The Track

For 2010, an extra half a mile has been added just after turn four, bringing the total length of the circuit to just under four miles. There are a few places to overtake—the slow corners following the long straights tend to provide the best chances.

One of the most difficult things for the drivers and teams to cope with is the heat. The cars have to cope with some pretty high temperatures, with forecasts suggesting air temperature will be around 36 degrees Celsius. It wouldn't be surprising if several cars blew up during the course of the weekend.

History

All of the previous winners of the Bahrain GP will be present, with Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa taking two victories each, and Michael Schumacher and Jenson Button both winning one.

Last years race saw the two Toyota's on the front row of the grid, with Button starting in fourth. Jenson managed to overtake Sebastian Vettel on the first lap, but Lewis Hamilton had taken them both, moving from fifth to third. Button's impressive move on Lewis on the next lap moved him up a place, and once the Toyota's pitted, he was in the lead, and went on to win the race.

Prediction

As it's the first race of the year and I'm doing this before practice or qualifying, this is going to be a complete guess. With it looking like there could be four teams challenging for the title in 2010, that means there are potentially eight drivers who have a realistic chance of the victory here.

1. Fernando Alonso
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Felipe Massa
4. Lewis Hamilton
5. Michael Schumacher
6. Jenson Button
7. Rubens Barrichello
8. Mark Webber
9. Nico Rosberg
10. Kamui Kobayashi

Bahrain GP on the BBC

First Practice: Friday, 12th March. 0655-0835, BBC Red Button
Second Practice: Friday, 12th March. 1055-1235, BBC Red Button
Third Practice: Saturday, 13th March. 0755-0905, BBC Red Button
Qualifying: Saturday, 13th March. 1010-1230, BBC One
Race: Sunday, 14th March. 1110-1415, BBC One

Read more Formula 1 news on BleacherReport.com

A group of 19 hopefuls are training at the US Olympic training center in Chula Vista, CA to jockey for the 12 open slots on the team.

Making a surprise return to the squad is Paul Emerick, who has been granted extra time off from his professional team in Italy. If one didn't know any better, they'd think that Emerick prefers life on the sevens circuit.

One thing that is certain is that Emerick has never been shy to profess his joy of playing for the his county and his play backs that up well.

“At the start of the season one of our goals was to not have more than 21 different players play in all eight tournaments. To do that,” USA Sevens Head Coach Al Caravelli explained, “we want to keep the core group together. I’m happy that nine of the players from Las Vegas will be back competing for their spots.

"Mark Bokhoven also returns from a recent injury.  In addition, there will be two new players at the assembly. They are NFL converts who were spotted at the Las Vegas Invitational.”

The core is, indeed, in tact. As mentioned, nine of the twelve players that played in Las Vegas are in camp. Those players include Emerick, Kevin Swiryn, Matt Hawkins, Nese Malifa, Leonard Peters, Zach Test, Shalom Suniula, Marco Barnard, and Nick Edwards.

With the squad developing nicely, keeping this many players together bodes well for the next leg of the IRB Series. This group is growing in confidence at each turn as they see they are fully capable of competing with the best in the world.

Sadly, the team has lost speedster Bennie Brazell, for the time being, as he's been offered another shot at the NFL.

With their newest cross-over athlete setting his sights back on the NFL, Head Coach Al Caravelli wasted no time in bringing in his next batch of football converts to test their mettle with the National team.

Unlike Brazell, who came to the sport with no prior experience, the next two have been given their baptism to rugby at the club level.

Former Missouri football standouts Tony Temple and Tommy Saunders are joining the training camp after spending time playing for the Kansas City Blues the past few months. Both players spent time in the NFL after their collegiate careers. Temple played for the Cleveland Browns, while Saunders had stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions.

Temple, a running back by trade, rushed for 2552 yard in his collegiate career including back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons in 2006-2007. In his final collegiate game, Temple set a Cotton Bowl record with 281 yards rushing in Missouri's 38-7 win over Arkansas on New Year's Day 2008.

Saunders played wide receiver at Missouri and finished his career with 150 receptions, 1600 yards receiving, and 11 touchdowns. A physically gifted athlete and determined competitor, Saunders once challenged himself to do 100,000 pushups in a year. He finished with 100,084. A player to watch out for, Saunders has the tools and intangibles that should serve him well in sevens.

Other invitees to the training camp include youngsters Dmitri Efthmiou and Trevor Richards, both of which travelled to Fiji with the squad during their last training camp.

Mark Bokhoven also returns to camp with much to prove. Loaded with athleticism, but hampered by repeated injuries, Bokhoven may be running out of opportunities with the squad.

Rounding out the training squad are Peter Sio, Brian Barnard, Tai Enosa, Malakai Vaka, and Zach Pangelinan. All but Vaka have previous IRB experience with the USA Sevens squad.

The squad announcement is expected by the end of the week. The team will then travel to Australia this coming weekend and train in Adelaide for two days prior to the event.

Kicking off Mar. 19, the USA has been dealt another tough draw in Adelaide as they take on Sevens powerhouse England, then battle the host squad Australia, before finishing with the dangerous Polynesian nation Niue.

As with other IRB World Series events, the matches are available on ESPN360 for viewing.

Following the IRB Australia Sevens World Series stop in Adelaide, the USA joins twenty-three other nations in the biggest field of competition on the IRB Series in Hong Kong. 
 
“Hong Kong is the grand daddy of all sevens tournaments,” Caravelli added. “Every tournament has a uniqueness, from the deserts in Dubai to the wonderful costumes in Wellington and the lights of Las Vegas. But, nothing can compare to the history, tradition and the special atmosphere that Hong Kong offers. This is the closest these athletes will be to a Super Bowl type setting.”

With a team growing in experience and athleticism, the USA is poised to make even more noise on the IRB Sevens Series in the coming weeks. 
 
USA Sevens Player Pool
 
Athletes (Club)
Barnard, Brian (OMBAC)
Barnard, Marco (Kutztown University)
Bokhoven, Mark (Gentlemen of Aspen)
Edwards, Nick (NYAC)
Efthimiou, Dimitri (Mystic River)
Emerick, Paul (Parma, Italy)
Enosa, Tai (Belmont Shore)
Hawkins, Matt (Belmont Shore)
Malifa, Valenese (Belmont Shore)
Pangelinan, Zach (OMBAC)
Peters, Leonard (Gentlemen of Aspen)
Richards, Trevor (University of Nebraska)
Saunders, Tommy (KC Blues)
Sio, Peter (Belmont Shore)
Suniula, Shalom (Pearl City)
Swiryn, Kevin   (Old Puget Sound Beach)
Temple, Tony   (KC Blues)
Test, Zach (Loughborough)
Vaka, Malakai  (Reno Zephyrs)

Staff

Caravelli, Al, Head Coach
Durfee, AJ,  Doctor
Fautley, Drew, Video Coach / Manager
Hayashida, Maury, Physio
Williams, David, Strength & Skills Coach

Read more Rugby Union news on BleacherReport.com

A year ago there were questions as to whether the mighty Federer could ever equal Sampras' Slam record.

Was he simply past his prime? Overtaken by the young generation who beat him on a regular basis, not least Nadal who had prevailed over the Swiss in three Slams finals within a year, two of them being instant classics.

Long had Federer fought and kept the young challengers at bay. But now, they seemed to have his number almost every time they met. "Thank god, the hard court season is over,” declared the punished eight-times hard court slammer after Miami last year.

Then came the turnaround in Madrid, where Federer took out Nadal in straight sets on his home turf employing a wiser tactic against him by going around his backhand more. People were surprised by the win, but not astonished. Nadal was fatigued after the four-hour rally against Djokovic and the high altitude and quick clay surface. It wouldn't influence on Roland Garros, after all Nadal had never in his life lost a best of five clay match.

Then the sensation, the never imagined.

The tall Swede Robin Söderling fired bullets against Nadal, dictating the master around the court for four sets. One always suspected Nadal to somehow pull it through, bu he didn't. Söderling was on a roll and his bullets remained within the lines throughout the match. Three matches later, Federer took him out in straight sets without much stress to gain his missing trophy.

”You know, every time I played Roger, after the match I always said, I played so bad today. Now I learned that it's not that I played bad, he makes me play bad," the respectful runner-up said. 

The rest? We all know the story. Federer regained his Wimbledon title and number one ranking as Nadal was taking time off to heal his overburdened knees. He lost the five-sets US Open final to the young canon who had blasted Nadal out of the semis (6-2, 6-2, 6-2), partly
because he insisted to try to out-blast Del Potro.

He didn't seem too bothered though. Now a father and a Slam record holder, he was much
more at ease with himself and with the eventual loss here and there. Could he uphold his motivation? Oh yes, more so than ever as Murray came to know in Australia, where Federer released some of his best tennis on Murray.

A relaxed and confident Federer is a dangerous Federer.

A year can certainly change a lot. Now towering at 16 Slam titles, people are not asking if he can ever win another Slam, but how many. And if this is the year for him to finally get hold of that eluding Calendar Slam.

So is it?

Let's take a look at the prospects.

The French Open

This one is, whether the Federer fans like it or not, largely dependent on how well Nadal is feeling going into the French. An injury-free, confident Nadal will invariably be the favorite at
Roland Garros, Federer or no Federer.

We did see signs of Nadal being close to his old self in Doha and Australia before he withdrew with knew pain in the knees from the Murray beating. Problem for Nadal is, regardless of how well he plays in the months leading up to Roland Garros, his air of invincibility is no longer
there.

Nadal knows that, Federer knows that and the hard-hitting contenders know that. A healthy Nadal will still be the favorite, but he will no longer be crowned before the games begin.

Federer, having made the last four finals and now also having tasted the sweet, sweet victory in Paris, is the clear second and should have a fair chance against a less than 100 percent Nadal. His win in Madrid, his win and Söderlings win here last year plus his regained confidence may even give him enough belief to challenge a completely healthy Nadal—coming around his backhand more often, attacking Nadal's second serve, using his slice and his drop shot. 

Federer might not be the favorite, but I fancy his chances are as good as ever. The two second most likely winners are Djokovic and Del Potro. The Djoker has been the third best clay-courter for years, but seems to lack the belief to win a Slam these days and getting into the bad habit of loosing the biggest matches.

Del Potro may grow to become a monster. Whereas Federer has continuously managed to keep Djokovic (yes, he lost that semi after his mono) and Murray at bay, not allowing them to think of themselves champions, he failed to dictate Del Potro.

Last years semis were extremely close between them and if Del Potro's wrist allows him to, he will be the most dangerous challenger to the duopoly. A few outsiders can also make run for the title, but Federer's chances of prevailing are not that slim.

Wimbledon

Regardless of the 2008 final and Nadal's continued improvement on grass, this tournament remains Federer's to lose. Aside from a healthy, confident Nadal, only Murray and an outstanding playing Roddick has a legitimate chance for the title. Outsiders could be
Cilic and Del Potro, but I doubt they are ready for the grass. If Federer has already won the French, the pressure will be higher, but doesn't he almost seem to like that?

Both Murray and Roddick has yet to prove that they can take him out in a Slam final (or a semi or a quarter for that matter) and whereas Roddick came as close as anyone, will that Wimbledon defeat, while playing perfect tennis, not rather give him doubts than confidence?

As to Murray, he got outright beaten despite displaying the finest tennis throughout the tournament. He learned once again that meeting Federer outside a Slam is an entirely different experience than within. That leaves Nadal, who is certainly a legitimate contender if
his body holds up to it. But does it? We don't know yet.

Odds are on Federer.

Assuming Federer now has three in the bag, let's move on to the final Slam of the year.

US Open

The media, the fans, the pundits would have gone crazy for months on end. Few, if any, would still doubt his GOAT status and a win here would convince the last sceptics around. It would add that last cherry to an already mind-boggling resume. The pressure would be enormous, yet Federer might be one of the few people around, who can handle and
strive on it.

That said, the Flushing Meadows is the Slam with the most contenders of the remaining three. Given Federer's records here, his Slam records, his semifinal- and final-streak and, we imagine, the confidence of having won the other three Slams, he would be the favorite heading into the tournament.

Problem?

There are so many players, who have a perfect game for the Flushing Meadows. Del Potro, Murray, a matured Cilic, Djokovic, Tsonga, Roddick, Davydenko, Söderling plus outsiders. But again, Del Potro aside, no one in this group has proven that they can handle Federer in a Slam, not least a Federer biding for the ultimate glory.

Obviously, they do stand a chance, but it is just a lot easier to beat Federer in a Slam,
when you already know you can. Tennis is a confidence game, especially in the biggest moments.

That brings us to Nadal.

Though Nadal's game is far from perfect for the fast Flushing Meadows, one should never underestimate him and count him out beforehand. After all, in this scenario he would have the chance of getting a career Grand Slam and at the same time preventing his fiercest rival from getting his Calendar Slam.

Though I doubt that there is anything but respect between these two great players, I also doubt that this scenario wouldn't get Nadal extra motivated to win it and spoil the coronation.

Let's wait and see what happens. The chance for the Calendar Slam is there, though admittedly very slim in one of the toughest top 10 and top 20 in recent years. But one year can certainly change the prospects.

As can one tournament.

Not too long ago, many predicted that this year would have four different slams winners. That may still happen. But one man may also end up with all of them.

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