Alcaraz, Djokovic and Sinner start the mother of all matches at the US Open

The big day has arrived. This Monday the last Grand Slam of the season starts, a US Open with three names higher than others.

Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner They arrive in New York with ultimate ambition after a season in which they dominated the circuit with an iron hand, and nobody would suggest that the situation will change in the ‘Big Apple’.

The first to debut is the Serbian. The recent Olympic champion will debut next morning (around 3am) against Moldovan Radu Albota rival that shouldn’t worry him too much despite the physical problems he continues to suffer from after a torrid summer.

Struff (2nd), Popyrin (3rd) or Shelton (8th) are the most important rivals that Nole will find in the first week of the tournament before facing the moment of truth, where players of the caliber of Dimitrov, Rublev or Zverev could cross their path.

All this before the long-awaited final against Alcaraz or Sinner, the two rivals who motivated him to continue in the elite at the age of 37.

“These kinds of confrontations that I have with Jannik and Carlos are the kinds of confrontations that still bring me joy of the competition and they inspire me to really strive to perfect the game,” said the Serbian in his media appearance on Saturday.

“People ask me ‘now that you’ve won everything with the gold medal, what else do you have left to win?’ I can still feel the push. I still have a competitive spirit. I still want to make more history and enjoy the circuit” added the current champion.

For his part, Alcaraz will look on the court that saw him lift his first Grand Slam title, in 2022, to continue the amazing streak that saw him become Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion in one summer which should be noted that only the Olympic gold eluded him.

His stumble in Cincinnatiwhere he lost the match and the papers against Gael Monfils in the second round, his status as the clear favorite should not change in the title.

Neither should the ankle sprain he suffered in training on Saturday against Francisco Cerúndolo. “I stopped as a precaution. I didn’t feel comfortable enough to continue training in case it got worse.. But after some time I felt better. “Everything is fine,” said the Murcian, who will play his first game in the early hours of Tuesday to Wednesday (1am) against Australian Li Tu, an unknown Australian player from the qualifying phase.

Other proper names are Jannik Sinner. The Italian has given a lot of talk in recent days, and not just for strictly sporting reasons. His positive for clostebol in the final Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and the ATP’s decision not to penalize him put the Italian in the spotlight.

“Anyone who knows me knows that I have never done and will never do anything against the rules.. As for reputation, we’ll see in the future, right? Because I can’t really control it,” explained the world number 1, who admitted that this whole tsunami has affected his preparations for the US Open.

“This is a very difficult time for me and my team. The preparation was not perfect due to the circumstances” lamented Sinner, who will make his debut this Tuesday (around 8 pm) against American Mackenzie McDonald, a tough loss on his way to a hypothetical semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz.

In other words, we are facing a US Open that is supposed to be spectacular with three kings seeking the throne of New York and a medium and long-term goal, ending 2024 as number 1 in the world.

Large Spanish representation

In addition to Alcaraz, seven other Spaniards will participate in the men’s draw at the US Open 2024. The first to do so are, at 5 pm, Roberto Bautista, who will face Luca Nardi, and Roberto Carballés, who will do the same against Jan Choinski. Then Albert Ramos will be brought to the court, to face Matteo Berrettini, Alejandro Davidovich, who will play against Rinky Hijikata, Pedro Martínez, against Maks
Kasnikowski and Pablo Carreño, rivals of Arthur Cazaux. On Tuesday it will be Jaume Munar, who will face Gabriel Diallo.