It’s time for the truth. He US Open 2023 begins this Monday in New York, and will do so at two clear favorites: Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
Spanish and Serbian They have emerged as great dominators of the circuit in recent monthswhich shares the most important titles, and has a high-voltage confrontation that has delighted fans around the world.
If at Roland Garros cramps reduced Alcaraz’s options, At Wimbledon, the Murcian showed that he is already at the level of the greatest to sign a historic victory which he was about to repeat in Cincinnati. There Djokovic shot ex officio and seniority to take the victory in the head or tail of the final tiebreaker.
The admiration between the two kings of current tennis is mutual, as their statements in recent days make clear. “Carlos is number 1 in the world. He has been one of the best players in the world for the past two years. My team is always looking at what he is doing, and I’m sure his team is watching my matches,” Djokovic said at a press conference.
For his part, Alcaraz believes that the Serbian “is one of the best in our sport, without a doubt. Everything he does is incredible. (I admire) his mental strength. Never give up. In the most difficult moments, it seems like he will fall and lose, but he always gives himself a chance to keep playing and win.”
The first to debut is Nole, which will close on the first day (around 3 a.m. from Monday to Tuesday) against French Alexandre Muller, an affordable rival who should not be upset in his return to the US Open after a two-year absence due to his refusal to be vaccinated against covid.
The Serbian has a relatively affordable draw to the quarterfinalswhere you can see faces with Stefanos Tsitsipas or Taylor Fritz, while Holger Rune emerges as a possible rival in the semifinals.
It will be more complicated, a priori, Carlos Alcaraz. The current champion will start the defense of the title in the early morning from Tuesday to Wednesday (around 03) against the German Dominik Koepferwhich they have never faced, and who, after a difficult start to the season where they only played for the Challengers, chained two great results this summer, the quarterfinals in Atlanta and the semifinals in Los Cabos.
Should his debut be successful, the Murcian will face the South African Lloyd Harrisa great server who this year only stood in the semifinals in Mallorca, or the argentinian Guido Pella, a clay court specialist who 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 seems that the first week should not eliminate the current champion of the tournament.which will see how significant threats from the round of 16 begin to appear his way.
The first of them should be Cameron Norrie, a possible opponent in the round of 16. Despite the 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.
Undoubtedly, the main course will come in the quarterfinals, where Alcaraz will have to rekindle his rivalry from last year against Jannik Sinner. The Italian is one of the players who gave the Murcian the most war, as it became clear this March in the semifinals in Miami, 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.
As for the rest of the male representatives, Alejandro Davidovich (21) will start against the American Marcos Giron (62)Roberto Carballés (63) will have a very difficult start against the Danish Holger Rune (4), Albert Ramos (88) will debut against the young American Alex Michelsen (127) and Bernabé Zapata (76) will debut against to another promising American like Ethan Quinn (475).
Number 1 was sentenced
Despite losing the final in Cincinnati, Carlos Alcaraz achieved his goal of maintaining the number 1 world ranking, although it was almost impossible to continue his reign after the US Open. The Spaniard’s current advantage is only 20 points (9,815 to 9,795), and only one combination will allow him to leave New York as the leader of the world rankings.
The accounts are clear. For Alcaraz not to lose the number 1, he is obliged to win the US Open, where he will defend his title, and for Djokovic to lose in the first round at the New York Grand Slam, something that is very impossible if we see the level that Serbian showed in Cincinnati.
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.
