ESPN 2008 US Open

The final Grand Slam of the year is upon us. Rafael Nadal continued to ride his Wimbledon momentum, exiting Beijing clad in Olympic gold. For the first time since the Australian Open in 2004, Roger Federer won't be the No. 1 seed.

Are the two primed to meet in a third straight Grand Slam final or is an upset inevitable? Our experts duke it out.

U.S. Open men's predictions
	Bonnie D. Ford ESPN.com tennis writer	Greg Garber ESPN.com tennis writer	Sandra Harwitt Florida-based tennis writer	Ravi Ubha London-based tennis writer	Matt Wilansky ESPN.com tennis editor
Early Exit	Just not Roger Federer's year. It had to happen sometime. A disappointing season will continue and the Swiss will end 2008 Slam-less.	It's been an unimpressive summer for Andy Roddick, who chose not to make the voyage to Beijing, losing to inferior players.	Andy Roddick's strategy of choosing U.S. tournaments instead of the Olympics has backfired and it might hurt his outcome at Flushing Meadows.	Andy Roddick has had a pretty miserable summer; a neck injury hindered the match practice he craved prior to the U.S. Open.	The trajectory of Nikolay Davydenko's season is unfavorable. The last time the worn-out Russian won consecutive matches: the beginning of June.
Sleeper	Seems as if this all-tools guy should be ranked higher than No. 40. Ernests Gulbis reached the fourth round of the Open last year. Attitude is ready for prime time.	Mikhail Youzhny likes this arena. The No. 21 seed was a semifinalist here in '06 and is poised to make another run in Flushing once again.	Juan Martin Del Potro awoke this summer winning four titles --- two on clay and two on hard courts, showing a talent for all surfaces.	Living up to his potential, the young Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro has won four straight tournaments. He won't be lacking in confidence.	Crafty Nicolas Kiefer has had an encouraging summer and has a history of navigating into the second week of the U.S. Open.
Winner	Sorry to crowd the bandwagon. New top dog Rafael Nadal will continue his mold-breaking season by capturing the only Slam where he's never made the final four.	Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic will split the 2008 Grand Slam season with Nadal, leaving a slumping Federer 0-for-4.	Hasn't liked his U.S. Open visits before, but Rafael Nadal has never come to New York as the reigning French Open, Wimbledon and Olympic champion.	Rafael Nadal is the hottest player around, and winning Olympic gold will give him the energy he needs to make a final push in New York.	It just doesn't look right seeing Roger Federer's name at the bottom of the draw. But at some point the slump is going to end -- right?