It's been a while since I've gone into a major unseeded, but my ranking has dropped back to 20 and that's why I haven't been given a seeding this time. It's not to say an unseeded player can't win the US Open, it just means you run into a seed earlier than usual.

I usually avoid looking too far into a draw to see who I could Play, but if I can beat Galo Blanco in the first round, I know Mark Philippoussis could, be lurking somewhere close. .

If that's the case, and we both get into the third round, I'm sure it will be a great match. .

I won't be thinking about anything other than playing my best, and I'd be surprised if he took anything else into the match.

Davis Cup won't be a factor. There's enough to play for as it is.

My form going into the Open could be better and I was a little disappointed by what happened in the Hamlet Cup on Long Island with a third-round loss to Michael Chang.

It was a match I should have won, being 3-0 and having break points for a 4-0 lead in the first set. I started off really well on serve but then, for some strange reason, I lost rhythm.

Losing like that against a player like Chang is always disappointing. You know that unless you really take all of your chances, you are going to regret it.

The positive out of the tournament was being able to survive against Stefan Koubek and the fact there was no sign of problems with the shoulder.

And I did serve well early against Chang.

But there's no doubt I have to step it up this week.

Everything has started to come together as far as the shoulder goes with all the work we've been doing.

There have been a few distractions with the Olympic Games coming up unbelievably quickly and that's something I'm very excited about.

But I've got to focus on the Open before I can start thinking too much about Sydney.

I'd originally left Long Island off my schedule but after pulling out of Cincinnati after feeling the shoulder in Toronto the previous week, it was always my goal to get some matches in before the US Open.

Having two was okay without being great, but there were some good signs.

I'm feeling pretty positive about the shoulder at the moment, but it's important to remember things can change very quickly.

For that reason, I'm not going to get my hopes up too much at the moment. Ideally,

I'll be able to get my serve going this week before trying to step it up a level at the US Open.

I've done a lot of fitness work over here in Bermuda and I've got no worries about being fit and strong enough to play a lot of matches.

The shoulder just needs to be watched, though.

Living on an island in the Atlantic means I don't see a whole lot about Australia in the news, but there is more and more about the Olympics on television and in the newspapers.

I'm desperate to be healthy for the Games but, even if I'm not, I'm still going to play any way.

I'll never get this chance again to play at an Olympic Games and I missed out last time.

Sydney is going to be huge and I can't wait to get there to check it out, carry the torch and try and win a medal.

There's a lot of talk about the Games over here now and you get a real sense of how close it is.

But with the US Open coming up, I've got to switch off from thinking about Sydney and focus on what's going to happen in New York.

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