The US Open is set to officially begin today.
Having just gone to the grounds of the US Open at Flushing Meadows and seen some major tennis stars for the first time in over two decades, I admittedly feel a bit more excited about it this year.
So, despite there being hundreds of players for the time being, there can be only one winner on the men's and women's side at the end of this thing, right?
On the men's side, I believe that the usual suspects will have an excellent chance of winning this tournament. That includes defending champion Novak Djokovic, who still has not won a Grand Slam title this year. This will be his last chance to do so, and he is fresh off his Gold Medal winning performance at the Paris Olympics, so he comes in with a head full of steam.
His main rival at this moment is young Carlos Alcaraz, who won this tournament two years ago. He is currently the world's number one ranked man, and had been enjoying a career best run by winning both the French Open and Wimbledon titles earlier this year, beating Djokovic in the Wimbledon Final. However, he lost to Djokovic at the Olympics Gold Medal Match, and then he had what he described as his worst match ever early in the Cincinnati Open. So it remains to be seen whether Alcaraz will continue his Grand Slam success from earlier this year, or if the recent losses might signal an impending slump for the current world's top player.
Otherwise on the men's side, I would think that some of the other usual big names should have a good chance as well, particularly if those two top guys slip. Rafael Nadal will not be participating in this US Open, and he has not been looking like...well, like his usual self. But Daniil Medvedev Casper Ruud, who made it to the final here a few years ago. Dominic Thiems was once a champion here as well, but it feels unlikely that he would recover enough to go all the way this time around. Then again, you never know, right?
Over on the women's side, the most obvious candidate to win would be current number one Iga Świątek, who won the US Open title in 2022. Of course, you cannot discount Coco Gauff and other elites. Emma Raducanu won here a couple of years back, as well. However, I just do not feel like another title run by her seems likely.
One way or the other, it should be an exciting couple of weeks!
Let's see what happens.
My predictions:
Men's Champion: Carlos Alcaraz (second pick: Daniil Medvedev)
Women's Champion: Coco Gauff (second pick: Iga Świątek)
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