Will Federer win more Slams or is he all washed up?

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are starting their 2010 US Open match as all the tennis world is shifting their attention to Flushing Meadows.  Roger Federer is on the outside looking in as he is outside of the US Open final for the first time in a really long time.

Federer is priced at +275 (11/4; Victor Chandler) to win the 2011 Australian Open, a title that he currently holds, but truthfully you would want odds of about +900 (9/1) on Federer if you were going to make a smart bet on him for Melbourne - maybe longer.

Federer had two match points against Novak Djokovic in the semis from Flushing Meadows yesterday and he was unable to put either of them away as he went out.  All Federer proved in Flushing Meadows this year is that he can come close to winning another Slam but when the big points are played, he's a cut below the best now.

Federer's exit from the US Open comes on the heels of two disappointing Slams at Wimbledon and Roland Garros and when the Australian Open comes around, Federer's ranking could take a huge hit.  He doesn't have any titles to defend between now and Melbourne because he doesn't win many titles anymore but when the Aussie comes early next year, he'll have 2000 ranking points to defend and he cannot be counted on to win again.

Next year the hard court Slams are going to be all about Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Murray, and Novak Djokovic while Roland Garros will be about Rafael Nadal and no one else.  Wimbledon 2011 is a little more up for grabs but Nadal is the definite market leader and if Federer can't beat Tomas Berdych on grass, how the former world number 1 be expected to beat better players even as he continues to age?

Look for Federer to be out of the top 5 by the end of the Australian Open as tennis futures now belong, in order, to Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin Del Potro, Andy Murray, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych, Marin Cilic, and Thomaz Bellucci with Ryan Harrison and Grigor Dimitrov on the radar for the longer term.

Register with Victor Chandler to bet on Australian Open futures - Juan Martin Del Potro is priced at +550 (11/2).