The US Open is just over a month away and players are gearing up to perform to the best of their abilities in the last major of the year.
We take a look at some of the favorites to clinch the title at the Flushing Meadows as it awaits the greats the sport has to offer.
Carlos Alcaraz
The young Spaniard has been in scintillating form this season. He has already won four titles in 2022. His first triumph came at Rio Open. The next two came at the Miami Open and Barcelona Open. The last of his four title wins came at the Madrid Open. The 19-year-old has won 36 of his 41 matches this year. However, he has not been able to carry his form to the Grand Slams as yet.
At the Australian Open this year, he was ousted in the third round by Matteo Berrettini in a five-set thriller. His best performance at a Grand Slam in 2022 came at the Roland Garros where he made it to the quarter-final. He looked impressive at the grass-court major but his run was halted by Jannik Sinner in the Round of 16.
Last year, Alcaraz impressed everyone at the Flushing Meadows and made it to the quarter-final stage before having to give a walkover to Felix Auger-Aliassime owing to an injury. We could see him take care of the unfinished business this time around and clinch his first Grand Slam title.
Stefanos Tsitsipas
The Greek tennis pro, Stefanos Tsitsipas has not had a great time at the US Open till now. His best performance at the prestigious tournament came last year when he made it to the third round. He was knocked out by Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.
Tsitsipas won the Monte-Carlo Masters while he made it to the finals at ATP Rotterdam and the Italian Open. As far as Grand Slams are concerned, the world No. 4 started impressively making it to the semi-final stage of the Australian Open before losing to Daniil Medvedev. He crashed out of the French Open in the fourth round courtesy of a defeat to Holger Rune in four sets. Tsitsipas’ last Grand Slam campaign was a disappointing one as he bowed out at the SW19 in the third round. Nick Kyrgios defeated him in a heated match that saw both players getting involved in a war of words during the match and shots were fired even after the match ended.
If the 23-year-old can bring his A-game to the fore at the Flushing Meadows, then he will have a great chance of bagging the title.
Casper Ruud
World No. 5 Casper Ruud won the Argentina Open in February as he defeated the favorite Diego Schwartzman in a riveting final. He made it to the final of the Miami Open before losing to Alcaraz. The Norwegian star won his second title of the year at the Geneva Open defeating Joao Sousa in the final.
Ruud was ruled out of the first Grand Slam of the year owing to an ankle injury. The French Open campaign was a memorable one for Ruud as he made it to the final before suffering a loss to the legendary Rafael Nadal. Ruud had a disappointing campaign at Wimbledon where he lost in the second round to Ugo Humbert.
Last year, Ruud failed to impress at the US Open as he bowed out in the second round following a defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp.
Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev will have the chance to defend his title this year at the US Open. The United States Tennis Association is not following in Wimbledon’s footsteps and banning Russian players.
World No. 1 Medvedev bagged his first and only Grand Slam win last year at Flushing Meadows after defeating Novak Djokovic in the final in straight sets. He had a great chance to win his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier in the year. The Russian star won the first two sets of the final against Rafael Nadal. However, the veteran pulled up his socks and produced a scintillating comeback to bag his 21st Grand Slam title.
The 26-year-old has blown hot and cold after the Australian Open. He reached the finals of a couple of tournaments but a title has eluded him thus far. Medvedev failed to live up to expectations at Roland Garros where he crashed out in the fourth round after losing to Marin Cilic. Medvedev might not have won a title following the US Open triumph last year but he has the potential to successfully defend his title. You would not want to bet against him.
Rafael Nadal
The 36-year-old has battled injuries and taken painkillers to produce some memorable wins this year. He started the year with a bang winning the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set. Nadal followed it up with a win at the Australian Open. Another triumph followed at the Mexican Open. He reached the final of the Indian Wells Masters before losing to the talented Taylor Fritz.
Nadal played a couple of tournaments prior to the French Open but could not make it beyond the quarter-final. However, at the clay-court Grand Slam, Nadal was at his best and bagged his 22nd Grand Slam triumph having lost just three sets in the entire tournament.
Nadal returned to grass after three years as he notched up a hard-fought win against Fernando Cerundolo in the first round of Wimbledon. He looked far from his best in the first couple of matches at SW19. However, as the tournament reached the business end, Nadal picked up his game and was looking well set to win his 23rd Grand Slam but a 7mm abdomen tear forced him to pull out of the tournament ahead of his semifinal clash against Nick Kyrgios.
Nadal has won the US Open on four occasions. The last of them came in 2019. He is looking forward to recovering in the time ahead of the US Open. Fans are waiting with bated breath to see the Southpaw return to action.
More Tennis news
- “I can thank my serving for the win today” – Casper Ruud credits serve for the win against Alexander Zverev
- Carlos Alcaraz wins Miami Open 2022 – What’s next for him?
- Italian Open 2022 Semifinals: Novak Djokovic vs Casper Ruud Preview, Prediction and Head to Head Stats
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