This US Open is the most wide-open major on the men’s side that we have seen in a long time, with no real favorite looking overwhelming at the moment. And the lack of a clear favorite means it’s hard to find the dark horses that follow them. Players like Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who usually make up the dark horse category are now basically in line with the favorites. It’s going to be a wild tournament, and it will be very tough to predict what is going to happen. We can say, though, that for the first time in about eight years, the list of dark horses actually includes some players who have a chance to win the tournament, not just perform well and pick up a startling upset or two.

Ernests Gulbis— Gulbis? A dark horse to win a Grand Slam? But, really, why not? He has shown a tremendous rededication to tennis in recent years and is clearly one of the more talented shot-makers out there. Gulbis has not been so consistent recently, but his run to the French Open semifinal cannot be overlooked. If he can avoid a bad early loss and reach the later rounds, he can play with anyone when he is at the top of his game. He showed he can beat Roger Federer in Paris, and he certainly can beat Novak Djokovic in the Serb’s recent form. It’s not likely, but it’s not impossible to imagine that he can go all the way either.

David Ferrer— Ferrer will be the No. 4 seed, but everyone is counting him out as a contender to win the whole thing. And if he has to go through Federer it seems very unlikely. But the fighting Spaniard seems to pick things up a step at Grand Slams and, with the form he showed in Cincinnati, he will be very tough for anyone not named Federer to beat. If someone can take out Roger before Ferrer has to meet him, this might be his best chance at a major title yet.

John Isner— We all know that Isner doesn’t really have the baseline game to challenge for a Grand Slam title. But he always peaks in the United States and, with a favorable draw, he can reach the second week without much trouble. His forehand is a tremendously underrated weapon, and on days that he is moving well it can give him openings in the return game. Isner played very well in Cincinnati, and you know that he wants to do much better than last year’s third-round loss here.

Marin Cilic— Cilic is on his way back up in the tennis world and looks to be approaching the form that once took him to an Australian Open semifinal. He has played very well since Roland Garros this year, and four of his last six losses have come against top 5 players. His confidence can still be a little shaky against top opponents, but as long as he keeps a rhythm on his massive groundstrokes, he can beat anyone.

Floating Seeds:

In case you are new to my dark horse previews, the floating seeds area is where I list the players that are playing or can play at a top-30 level but aren’t seeded. This means that they can land anywhere in the draw and be a very difficult matchup for whatever seed they do have to face early.

Lleyton Hewitt— Hewitt’s form in Toronto and Cincinnati was poor, to say the least. The fact is, though, that he was one win in Cincinnati away from a seed here. He is having one of his best years since 2009 with two titles (and a victory over Roger Federer) on the season. When his game is clicking, he can still beat anyone in the world, and his never-ending fight keeps him in matches long after most other players would have lost. No top player wants to see him in the first two rounds.

Yen-Hsun Lu— Lu has also been playing his best tennis recently and is just one more withdrawal away from actually being seeded here, which would make this paragraph moot. He beat Tomas Berdych in Cincinnati with some stellar play. He is a good defender and keeps the ball very deep. Also, when his game is working well, Lu’s shots up the lines can be devastating in opening up points. He already has a top-10 Grand Slam scalp under his belt (Andy Roddick at Wimbledon 2010) and this could very well be a year where he adds another, if given the chance.

Vasek Pospisil— Pospisil recently dropped out of the top 30 after his semifinal result from Canada 2013 fell off the board, but he has been playing very well this year, and his newfound doubles success with Jack Sock can only have increased his confidence. He has a massive serve and solid ground game, a potent combination on these fast American hard courts. He had a poor showing at the US Open last year and will want to dramatically reverse that next week.