(Reuters) – Five top contenders for the men’s title at the U.S. Open, which starts on Monday.
CARLOS ALCARAZ (SPAIN)
* World ranking: 1
Alcaraz is the favourite to seal his second U.S. Open title after beating Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last month and notching a second Grand Slam triumph to retake top spot in the world rankings.
The Spaniard could cement his place as the new dominant force in the men’s game with victory in the season-closing major, but he was beaten by Djokovic in a gripping Cincinnati Open final.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC (SERBIA)
* World ranking: 2
The U.S. Open is tied with the French Open as Djokovic’s least successful Grand Slam, with the Serb last winning it in 2018.
However, his lack of success at Flushing Meadows in recent years has largely been down to off-court issues, with his COVID-19 vaccination status, a disqualification and a shoulder injury having thwarted him in 2022, 2020 and 2019.
With those problems now behind him, the 23-times Grand Slam winner is a frightening prospect heading into the U.S. Open and will be rejuvenated following his victory over Alcaraz in Cincinnati.
DANIIL MEDVEDEV (RUSSIA)
* World ranking: 3
Medvedev, who won the U.S. Open in 2021, has had a less than ideal build-up to the tournament, having lost to Alex de Minaur in straight sets in the Canadian Open quarter-finals, before being beaten by Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati.
The Russian has reached five finals on hard courts this year, winning in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami and finishing runner-up at Indian Wells.
JANNIK SINNER (ITALY)
* World ranking: 6
Sinner reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon this year to record his best Grand Slam finish, before going on to claim the biggest trophy of his career by winning the Canadian Open title – his first Masters 1000 victory.
Last year, Sinner was eliminated from the U.S. Open following a marathon five-set defeat by Alcaraz, but the Italian emerged victorious in their last meeting to level their head-to-head record at 3-3 – which will give him confidence with the two on course to meet in the quarter-finals.
CASPER RUUD (NORWAY)
* World ranking: 5
Ruud will be hoping to go a step further after falling to Alcaraz in last year’s final, but little has gone right for the Norwegian in the past few weeks.
The 24-year-old was knocked out in the second round of both Wimbledon and the Canadian Open, before losing his opening match at the Cincinnati Masters to Australian Max Purcell.
However, Ruud has shown this year that he can rise to the occasion at Grand Slams, reaching the final of the French Open despite having a poor start to the season.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
