US Open Power Rankings

The U.S. Open Series is a six-week, five event warmup for players on tour to get their games adjusted from the grass and clay-court seasons in Europe to the hard courts in America.

Do well in these five tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open and you'll not only set yourself up for success in Flushing Meadows, but you could win a nice pot of money for success in both the U.S. Open Series and the Open itself.

The power rankings you'll see below aren't necessarily predictions for the finish of the U.S. Open. It's a culmination of how these players did for the past six weeks combined with a skill set necessary to go deep into the U.S. Open draw.

Anything can happen in tennis, but right now I'll take a positively trending Mardy Fish over a higher ranked Novak Djokovic. That's just the train of thought here. We've already made our predictions, here's a list of who's the hottest right now.

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Men's Power Rankings

1. Andy Murray made it to two U.S. Open Series finals, winning in Toronto and losing a three-setter in Los Angeles. In his only other hard-court warmup he lost to one of the hottest players on tour, Mardy Fish. Murray is primed to make a run at his first Grand Slam championship and he won't mind one bit having to go through Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal to get it done. He's already beaten both of them in the month.
2. Roger Federer only needed two hard-court warmups to get ready for the U.S. Open. He made more headlines knocking a bottle off someone's head with a serve than he did with on-the-court accolades. He did reach the finals in both the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters, beating Mardy Fish and losing to Andy Murray. Anyone think Federer's not capable of winning another Grand Slam? Because he sure thinks that he can.
3. Mardy Fish won more grass-court matches this summer than any other player on tour. He then came home to America and won the first two tournaments he entered in the States. After a slowdown in Washington, Fish once again made it to the finals of a tournament, this one in Cincinnati. Roger Federer got the best of Fish that day in three sets, but Fish is now considered a contender. And who can blame anyone for thinking that after watching the last three months?
4. Rafael Nadal enters the final Grand Slam event of the season as the No. 1 player on the planet but hasn't played well since arriving in America. Murray sent him packing from Toronto in straight sets and Marcos Baghdatis ousted him in the quarterfinals in Cincinnati. Nadal is always dangerous, but many wonder if his knees can withstand the grueling hard courts long enough to pull off his third Grand Slam of the year.
5. Andy Roddick had a tough three tournament period. He got beat twice in the semifinals by his best friend Mardy Fish, once in Atlanta and again in Cincinnati. Then he battled mono in Washington and failed to pass the third round. But the U.S. Open is Roddick's baby and he's always dangerous in this event. Don't count him out.

Women's Power Rankings

1. Caroline Wozniacki -- Forget the fact that she has a brutally difficult draw, Wozniacki has played better than anyone on hard courts over the last few months. She won a tournament in Copenhagen before coming over to the U.S. and winning two U.S. Open Series events. She had to battle through six top-20 players to win her two tournaments, one in Montreal and the other in New Haven. If she can win the Open, she'll raise a Grand Slam trophy for the first time and pocket some serious cash.
2. Maria Sharapova -- Had a foot injury not force Sharapova from the Montreal Masters event, we may be talking about her more than Wozniacki. We may still be giving Sharapova more hype. She's won this tournament before and does a superb job of stepping up for major tournaments. it will likely be either her or Wozniacki leaving their quarterfinal bracket as they are on a collision course.
3. Kim Clijsters -- The 27-year-old Clijsters loves the hard courts of the U.S. Open. She's made for this tournament, winning it twice and losing in the finals one other time. She's playing good tennis right now, beating Sharapova for the title in Cincinnati and should be able to make a deep run this year at the Open.
4. Svetlana Kuznetsova -- Kuznetsova won the second event of the U.S. Open Series, taking down Agnieszka Radwanska in three sets. Then, poor luck in the draws set in. She faced Sharapova in the first round at Cincinnati and lost in three sets. If that wasn't bad enough, she ran into Wozniacki in the semis at Montreal, losing in straight sets. She'll have to get past big-name players to fight deep into the U.S. Open. If she can figure out how to clear that obstacle, she'll surprise a lot of people.
5. Victoria Azarenka -- Anyone who has beaten Maria Sharapova over the last six weeks has something to brag about. Azarenka smacked Sharapova pretty hard at Stanford, 6-4, 6-1, to win that title and then made a deep run in Montreal before losing to Vera Zvonareva in the semis. Azarenka can be downright unstoppable on hard courts, so watch out.