The final grand slam tournament of the year, which begins on Monday at Flushing Meadows, will welcome the world's two highest ranked players in intimidating form.

Two Masters tournaments, the level below a grand slam, have been played this month with Murray triumphing in Montreal and Federer in Cincinnati. 

Rafa Nadal has struggled to recover from the knee injuries that kept him out of Wimbledon, while a supporting cast of Djokovic, Roddick and Del Potro does not look strong enough to challenge the dominating duo on their favoured New York hard courts.

Looking just at the top two, Federer has the edge. The Swiss won his most recent encounter with Murray, in the Cincinatti semi-finals, has won three of the past four grand slam tournaments. And, oh yes, he is the five time defending US Open champion.

On top of that, when the two met in the final last year Federer won at a stroll. He played beautiful tennis as he destroyed Murray 6-2 7-5 6-2. The first set of the match was telling. A nerveless Federer repeatedly held serve with ease, and waited for first-night errors from his opponent, a grand slam final debutant. They duly came in the sixth game. The Fed broke for 4-2 and never looked back.

So what hope can Murray cling to as he embarks on his quest this year? Well, to get to last year's final he had to beat the then world number one Nadal over five sets and two days -- by far the greatest triumph of his career to date. Even if he wasn't tired after that, and remember Murray is ultra-fit, a man who does sets of 400 metre sprints in the heat of Miami for fun, the mental effort would have been extraordinary. 

Then there is their head to head record, which Murray leads 6-3. The Fed is nearly six years older and has made it clear he feels uncomfortable playing against Murray's attritional style. And his wife Mirka has just had twins, with one of them called Charlene -- suggesting a serious lack of judgment on Roger's part (sorry Roger, only joking).

But who are we kidding?

Federer has an incredible power on court, and the ability to win the key points and games to relentlessly accumulate major titles. Only Nadal at his rampaging best has broken through his force-field, and even then in two nail-biting five-set finals at Wimbledon and in Australia.

A 16th grand slam awaits Roger Federer.

PHOTO: Roger Federer talks with Andy Murray after winning his fifth straight U.S. Open tennis title at Flushing Meadows in New York September 8, 2008. REUTERS/Kena Betancur

The build-up to Friday's second Wimbledon semi-final was all about Briton Andy Murray but the man of the hour was the fearless American Andy Roddick.

Sat on a packed and sunny Centre Court, the prospect of Murray's party being gate-crashed did not take long to dawn on a crowd who did not seem sure who they should be cheering for.

Roddick never stopped playing like a man on a mission, contesting every point while Murray's more subtle, patient approach was not coming to fruition as many had predicted.

Murray produced glimpses of magic and he stood up bravely to return many of Roddick's meteoric serves, which hit a staggering speed of 143MPH, but his own first serve let him down too often and the passing shots he regularly makes went amiss.

On paper, this was a match Murray was meant to win, but in reality the world number three was outplayed by sixth seed Roddick whose recent good form has coincided with a much fitter physique.

At 22-years-old, a grand slam semi-final still represents progress for Murray and the defeat will by no means damage his confidence or reputation -- British fans will just have to wait a little longer for a homegrown Wimbledon finalist. After all it has been 71 years already.

However, tennis fans will not begrudge Roddick, a former world number one and the 2003 U.S. Open champion, another chance to renew his rivalry with defending champion and overwhelming favourite Roger Federer in Sunday's final.

If Roddick serves like he did on Friday, he has a chance, don't you reckon?

ANDY 1: Andy Roddick seems scarcely able to believe his won over Andy Murray in their semi-final at Wimbledon, July 3, 2009. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

ANDY 2: Murray's expression says it all. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Andy Murray's brutal straight sets victory over Juan Carlos Ferrero took him through to the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time in his career on Wednesday but while the centre court fans and the Henman Hill mob did their Mexican waves one man was singularly unimpressed by the Murraymania.

Murray himself is doing his best to let the media frenzy pass him by. He may have received notes of encouragement from the Queen, Sean Connery and Cliff Richard, and he knows he will be all over the front and back pages of the newspapers again on Thursday, but to say the Scot is staying cool would be a massive understatement. Here's what he said after the 7-5 6-3 6-2 win over Ferrero:

"It doesn't make any difference the way you perform, the hype. If you spend the whole time, if you work in the media and spend a lot of time reading the papers, watching everything on the TV, getting said all the things that are getting said on the radio, then you get caught up in it.

If you ignore it you don't realize it's happening. You don't take anything that's being said about you. You know, I don't read it because 90% of the stuff's gonna be pretty much untrue anyway."

Ouch.

Murray didn't sound too impressed to hear that Kate Winslet had been in the crowd either, although he did concede it might be good for the sport.

"I think it's good for tennis any time you get, you know, big stars or celebrities coming to watch. It makes it, I guess, cooler for kids and stuff, which is important in this country."

PHOTO: Andy Murray returns the ball to Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain during their quarter-final at Wimbledon, July 1, 2009. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

Royal Bank of Scotland is not best known for backing winners.

So the Scottish bank must be savouring Andy Murray's run at the Wimbledon tennis tournament.

World number three Murray is one of the "sports personalities of present and past" sponsored by RBS during the heady days of Sir Fred Goodwin.

Murray must count as one of Sir Fred's more inspired investments. Murray's play has literally gone from strength to strength -- all the time with the RBS logo emblazoned on his shirt sleeve.

Stephen Hester, Goodwin's successor as chief executive of RBS, must be hoping Murray maintains his winning streak and goes all the way to the Wimbledon men's final.

It's about time RBS employees -- and shareholders including the British government -- had something to cheer about.

No doubt British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling will also be willing fellow Scot Murray to victory -- they could both do with the "feel-good" factor of a British Wimbledon win.

As Wimbledon closed its new retractable roof over Centre Court for the first time in a drizzly southwest London on Sunday, the gap between the haves and have-nots grew wider.

Spectators and organisers hailed the new innovation, which will ensure Centre Court ticket holders will never again go away without seeing a match, but the rest of the soggy Wimbledon grounds provided a stark reminder of what it will be like for the majority of players and fans who walk through the All England Club gates next month.

Until this year, there was not much a player such as world number 100 Sergio Roitman would have in common with the likes of Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon. Except when it rained that is. No matter who you were, if it rained you were stuck in the locker room.

Not anymore. The chosen few lucky enough to be scheduled on 15,000 capacity-Centre Court will never again have to wonder exactly when the rain gods will let up. But since Wimbledon has another 18-odd courts that are used during the two-week long championships, the majority of players who make up the 128-strong singles draw will be left high and dry -- or in this case soaking wet -- when the heavens open.

Andre Agassi, who was given the honour of being one of the first players to test the conditions under the new multi-million dollar structure, dismissed suggestions that the roof would create a class divide.

"From a players perspective you could argue that those scheduled on centre court have a distinct advantage but you could also argue that those who have been scheduled on Centre Court have earned the right to have that opportunity," the American told reporters.

While the roof will ensure television viewers will also be guaranteed daily live action, Wimbledon organisers would do well to invest in a pair of earplugs as they will undoubtedly be on the receiving of some harsh criticism from those left out in the cold.

IN SYNC: Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf during their mixed doubles match against Tim Henman and Kim Clijsters under the newly completed Centre Court roof at Wimbledon in London May 17, 2009. REUTERS/Kieran Doherty

**** For full coverage of Wimbledon click here ****

Lindsay Davenport believes she has survived to the ripe old age of 32 in tennis because she took two lengthy breaks from the stamina-sappping demands of the globe-trotting sport.

At 25, Justine Henin was world number one and dominated the sport. Many years of Grand Slam triumphs beckoned. But then she abruptly announced her retirement last month. The fire had gone.

Like her Belgian compatriot Kim Clijsters who quit the year before at 23, Henin was suffering from the scourge that threatens to decimate the sport — burnout.

Former Wimbledon champion Davenport, who pulled out of the tournament on Thursday with a right knee injury, said “There was definitely some times in my career where I’ve been burnt out.”

What gave her longevity was stepping off the treadmill.

“I’ve had two really long breaks and they’ve both really helped me tremendously kind of get the fire back burning,” the American player said.

But, in a bittersweet press conference where she hinted at retirement but still longed to compete at the Beijing Olympics and the U.S. Open, she waxed most eloquent when talking to reporters about the progress of her baby son.

“He’s almost walking. He’s very vocal … Yeah, he’s a love,” Davenport told reporters.

The players feel at times they are stretched to the limit by the demands of a glamorous sport that takes them round and round the world on an interminable merry-go-round.

Australian Open champion Maria Sharapova, knocked out of Wimbledon in a second round shock, feels the WTA, the sport’s ruling body, is ignorant of the players’ needs.

“Your voice is never being heard,” she complained.

World number two Rafael Nadal put it even more bluntly: “The calendar is impossible.”

Both the ATP, which rules men’s tennis, and the WTA have made plans to shorten the season from 2009.

The WTA is trimming the current 25 Tier I and II events down to 20 and WTA vice-president communications Andrew Walker stressed to Reuters at Wimbledon: “The health and well being of players is the number one priority.”

Keeeping a wary eye on teenage prodigies who could fall by the wayside, he said: “The tour’s eligibility rules that allow for graduated doses (of playing time) for younger players has resulted in an increase in player careers by 24 percent and a reduction in burnout to less than one percent.”

But from fashion shoots to endless media interviews, the players will inevitably face continuing pressures as the sport and its big business sponsors battle to give tennis maximum exposure on the world stage.

** Click here for full coverage of Wimbledon 2008 **

First came Serena’s raincoat and Roger’s cardigan. But it was Maria Sharapova’s white tuxedo and shorts that upped the fashion stakes at the world’s most famous tournament. The 21-year-old Russian said she wanted to do something classy for Wimbledon so she decided to step up a gear in the tennis fashion parade when appearing on court for the first time in 2008.

“It’s the tuxedo look. I was very inspired by menswear this year and every time at Wimbledon I want to do something classy and elegant,” she said after seeing off French qualifier Stephanie Foretz 6-1 6-4.

“This year I said why don’t we do shorts and I have never worn shorts before at a grand slam. There is a place to do it and that’s Wimbledon,” the former Wimbledon champion told BBC television right after stepping off court.

At a sun-kissed Wimbledon on Monday, Serena Williams took to the court wearing a white raincoat. On a gloriously hot afternoon, defending champion Roger Federer opted for a white cardigan after two years sporting a white blazer.

Sharapova missed seeing Williams’ raincoat but loved Federer’s cardigan. “I thought that was classic. It was beautiful,” she told reporters.

Her post-match press conference was dominated by questions about fashion. Sharapova, relaxed and laughing, was happy to answer them all.

“I love how 10 of the questions are about what we are wearing. It’s amazing,” she said.

Working within Wimbledon’s strict dress code is a challenge she relishes. “You know it’s hard to do things different with white — there’s only so much you can do,” she said.

Sharapova was clearly relieved to have got her first match out of the way at the tournament where she became an instant overnight sensation with her win as teenager, the first of her three Grand Slam wins.

“It was great to get out there and get a feel for Court Number One. It was my first match on grass this year so I did pretty well considering,” she said.

“You never know what is going to happen. You can have a great practice week, you can have a terrible practice week and then go out on court and things can feel totally different.”

She even found time at the end of her press conference to wish Russia well in the European soccer championship after their defeat of the Netherlands in the quarter finals.

“I am so proud they got through that. It was kind of nerve-wracking when it was tied five minutes left into the game. You know we’re brave, we are strong, we work hard at what we do. Good things happen.”

** Click here for full coverage of Wimbledon 2008 **

At few other world sporting events do so many queue for so long.

Wimbledon , by dint of its allowing fans to just turn up on the day without booking, has always attracted vast numbers of the ticketless, either casual, after-work visitors or the more diehard types who come armed with tent and supplies to see the likes of Roger Federer, Ana Ivanovic and Maria Sharapova compete.

Draped with plastic sheets against the rain, bedded down on the hard pavement, those in for the long haul often insisted to interviewers — rather unconvincingly — that the wait was part of the fun.

Now, however, the queue has indeed become more civilised with the opening up of the nearby Wimbledon Park to tennis campers. The wide open spaces of this Capability Brown-designed gem, just a stone’s throw from the All England club, are a world away from the cramped pavements of Church Road. There are lockers to store tents and sleeping bags and plenty of space for all. Plenty of public tennis courts too. The only drawback is the strict 6 a.m. wake-up call.

The queue itself, however, remains a daunting beast, snaking around the park and the adjacent golf course, seemingly for miles. The All England club has even issued a Guide to Queuing handbook to lay down the ground rules. For queue information click here

Waiting patiently in line is of course a British speciality and some of the regulars do genuinely seem to enjoy the atmosphere — but for less patient souls, here’s all you need to know to enter the ballot next year and walk straight in.

** Click here for full coverage of Wimbledon 2008 **

Immaculate as the lawns of the All England club may be, their continuing use as a surface for playing tennis is a matter of growing debate.

Clay court players have always hated the way the ball comes off grass so fast and low, and while ordinary mortals can get over a bad bounce and go on to lead normal lives, you sometimes wonder about the pro players.

They used to say about the great Argentine Guillermo Vilas that he played on grass like he’d been smoking it — and a whole host of of clay and all-weather court specialists have had real problems with the annual switch in the last week of June to the Wimbledon lawns.

Is it time for Wimbledon to stop holding out as the only Grand Slam event left on grass? Or is there room for a variety of surfaces in tennis?