Rogers Cup: Shaping up an exciting US Open.

The 2008 Rogers Cup played at York University in Toronto is to be concluded this weekend. Roger Federer and a few other seeded players slipped in the early rounds.

Roger Federer lost his first match at the Rogers Cup to Gilles Simon of France in three sets. Simon is having a great run, inspired by this victory as he will now play Marin Cilic in his quarterfinal match. Yesterday, Cilic defeated Andy Roddick in three sets of 6-4, 4-6 and 6-4 to advance.

Federer's lead over Rafael Nadal has never been that slim. Before the beginning of the competition, Federer had just over 700 points on his closest rival. That advantage will diminish even more after this week. Rafael Nadal is still in the draw, and plays Richard Gasquet in quarterfinals.

With a close race for the number one spot like the one we are having right now between Nadal and Federer, the US Open tournament coming up later this summer will decide of the order of things. Each match and each round, especially for Federer matches,will bear an extra suspense that has not been common for the last Grand Slam tournament of the season in recent years. And all the pressure to perform will be on Roger Federer again.

Will Roger Federer manage to keep his number one rank again this year? Will Nadal beat him in 2008 once the race is over? We are in for a treat at Flushing Meadows.

(Picture: Andy Roddick, Getty Images.)