The new edition of the US Open starts on Monday 28 in New Yorka contest that this year has two clear favorites, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovicand this Thursday he announced the result of the draw for the main draws.
We can say that luck was not on the side of the current world number 1who will face a series of tough challenges on his way to defend the title he won last year.
His first rival was the German Dominik Koepferwhich he has never faced, and who, after a difficult start to the season in which he played only for the Challengers, chained two great results this summer, the quarterfinals in Atlanta and the semifinals in Los Cabos.
If his debut is surpassed, the Murcian will face the winner of the match between South African Lloyd Harrisa great server who this year only stood in the semifinals in Mallorca, and Guido Pella, a clay court specialist, will be playing in his first hard court tournament in New York since March. Neither of them had faced the world number 1 before.
Daniel Evans (26) and Botic van de Zandschulp are emerging as likely rivals in the third round. Neither of them has beaten Alcaraz, who has a 2-0 record in both, although the Briton won the Washington tournament more than a month ago.
In any case, it does not seem that the first week should eliminate the current champion of the tournament, which You can see how important threats from the round of 16 will start to appear your way.
Cameron Norrie should be the firsta possible opponent in the round of 16. Despite a poor moment of form (he has not won a match since the first round of Wimbledon at the end of June), the Briton is a player who often makes his life difficult.
In fact, Norrie has beaten Alcaraz in two of their last three duelsin the Cincinnati 2022 quarterfinals (7-6, 6-7, 6-4) and in the final of this year’s Rio de Janeiro tournament (5-7, 6-4, 7-5), although the balance between these two 4-2 for the Spanish.
Undoubtedly, the main course will come in the quarterfinals, where Alcaraz will have to repeat his rivalry from last year against Jannik Sinner. The Italian is one of the players who gives the Murcian the most war, as it became clear this March in the Miami semifinals, when he came back to win and reach the grand final (6-7, 6-4, 6-2). ).
Their head-to-head is 3-3, but the Spanish victories are painful. The first of these was at Paris Bercy 2021 by a tight 7-6, 7-5, and the last at Indian Wells 2023 by 7-6, 6-3. We left last year’s duel in New York for last, where Alcaraz pulled off an epic victory (6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3) in a match won by Sinner in the fourth set and that he let get away for a handful of decisive points that he didn’t know how to define.
The last big obstacle for Alcaraz before the final will come in the semifinals, where he will have to meet Daniil Medvedev. It is true that the Russian clearly lost to the Spaniard in the two games they played this year (6-3, 6-2 in the Indian Wells final and 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in the Wimbledon semifinals. ), but we do not must forget that the US Open is his favorite tournament and where he usually shows his best level, as he showed in 2019 by putting Rafa Nadal against the ropes (7-5, 6-3, 5- 7, 4-6, 6-4) or in 2021, when he outlasted favorite Novak Djokovic (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) in a final to remember.
Djokovic will surely be waiting for the last one everyone dreams ofa rivalry that will mean the fourth battle in a row, after Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Cincinnati, of a war that is on its way to becoming one of the most outstanding rivalries of recent times.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
