Mumbai: Here’s a brief rundown on the form and fortunes of the world’s top 10 male players heading into the season-ending Grand Slam:
World No.1, Jannik Sinner: Pulled out of the tournament with a persistent knee injury.
World No.2, Alexander Zverev: Crashed out in his first match in Toronto, and the third in Cincinnati – the two tune-up events for New York.
World No.3, Carlos Alcaraz: Has not played a competitive singles match since April due to a wrist injury.
World No.4, Felix Auger-Aliassime: Withdrew from Toronto with a back injury, and won two matches in Cincinnati.
World No.5, Novak Djokovic: Played just 20 matches on tour all year, and crashed out in his first Cincinnati contest.
World No.6, Flavio Cobolli: Lost three and won four matches after Wimbledon.
World No.7, Alex de Minaur: Hasn’t gone beyond the quarter-finals in the hard-court swing in the US and Canada.
World No.8, Daniil Medvedev: Tasted two defeats in the first match of his last three events, including an ATP 250 in Winston-Salem.
World No.9, Ben Shelton: Won the Toronto title before losing to a Portuguese opponent in the next match at Cincinnati.
World No.10, Taylor Fritz: Went all the way in Washington, but went out early in Toronto.
Welcome to the US Open, folks. A Grand Slam that could be anybody’s — something seldom said for the men’s field in recent years. Certainly, in the Big Three era, and even over the past three seasons in which two men swept all but one Slam.
Sinner, the Wimbledon champion, isn’t in New York. Alcaraz, the defending US Open champion, is returning from his young career’s most serious injury. Zverev, the French Open champion and the US Open top seed, has been supremely solid in Slams but is coming off an under-par hard-court swing.
And then there’s the rest in the top 10, who don’t exactly ooze optimism. One of them even publicly expressed thoughts of switching to pickleball during a mid-match changeover earlier this week (Medvedev).
What then could be expected from the tennis over the next couple of weeks?
The first sighting of Alcaraz in any tournament (in singles) since April 14, and in a Slam since his Australian Open triumph on February 1, would be intriguing. The 23-year-old Spaniard has been cautious about dealing with his injured right wrist, letting go of two Slams while picking patience from a long-term lens over premature short-term temptations.
Despite battling “intrusive thoughts” during the phase, as he told the media in New York, the seven-time Slam champion feels ready to roll now. For how long and how deep in his first tournament back remains to be seen. No man has gone all the way at the US Open, since it moved to Flushing Meadows, without turning up for at least one North American hard-court tune-up event.
“I know coming to the US Open, best-of-five for (my first tournament since April), it’s really challenging,” said Alcaraz. “Probably in terms of preparation, it is not the best time. But my team and I believe that I’m ready.”
How ready does Djokovic feel? The 39-year-old lost in his first outing in Cincinnati to a 50th-ranked opponent, and revealed his issues in dealing with extreme heat. New York may not be any cooler, but Djokovic always tends to be hotter in Slams.
The 24-time champion has still made one final and one semi-final in majors this year. And, save a defeat to an inspired Joao Fonseca in Paris, he has only been stopped by Alcaraz and Sinner, much like last year.
One of them is away, and the other is only just coming back from a lengthy layoff. Should the stars align, and the star himself gets through the first few rounds and into his groove, he could have another real shot at the elusive 25th.
Zverev got his first only at the French Open this year, a feat that many saw coming for a few years only for the German to keep falling short.
Now that the 29-year-old has got a taste of it, he’d like more. Zverev has been the most consistent player in Slams this year, reaching another final (Wimbledon) and a semi-final (Australian Open) to go with the title. Results in the lead-up tournaments aside, Zverev would love to keep that consistency going in New York, where he is the 2020 finalist as well.
Does the top seed feel like he is the top favourite?
“I feel like I’m one of the 128 players that are favourites in the draw,” Zverev said.
Well, perhaps that sums it up.
