Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York
The US Open often bucks the trend. Be better, innovate and create new trends. The slam of the “Big Apple” is historically the other one that brings something new, on the field, in the rules, in context. This year marks the 50th anniversary of gender equality with prize money, which was introduced here half a century ago, while the idea itself was unimaginable elsewhere at the time. In Flushing came the tiebreak (1970) and a thousand other innovations that profoundly influenced the game. But also in terms of the results The US Open is very often the Grand Slam that sets new standards, that produces new winners, the hardest to conquer for those who have dominated the year with tired legs and very tough, changeable conditions, and generally the fastest of the season .
If there has been a steady “entering into society” of new major champions (not to go back too far: Pennetta, Osaka, Stephens, Andreescu, Raducanu) in recent history, then this is the case For men, the trend has increased in the last three editions: Thiem 2020 (in the final against Zverev, in his first Grand Slam appearance), Medvedev 2021, Alcaraz 2022, all with the first Grand Slam victory of their careers. And more recently, Cilic (2014) and Del Potro (2009) in their first and only Grand Slam, with Murray finally getting revenge in 2012 after various losses at other majors. Federer dominated the 2000s but hasn’t won since 2008 and for Djokovic it’s the Slam where he’s taken the bitterest bites since the terrible disappointment of 2021.
Fresh air in New York, and not just for the Caribbean hurricanes that have increasingly become unwelcome onlookers in recent years… Will the trend towards the new be confirmed in poker for new Grand Slam champions in 2023? We really hope so as Jannik Sinner is one of the potential luxury underdogs and contenders to break the bank and win the first Grand Slam of his career. But in addition to the various Rune, Ruud, Tsitsipas, Rublev or even Zverev to name just one who is already quite an expert but doesn’t have a Major in his showcase yet, a Superchampion is inserted at position #128 of the board, who is looking for the big revenge in this tournament: Novak Djokovic. It’s always difficult to predict ahead of a Grand Slam, especially at a Grand Slam so capable of setting new standards and innovating like the US Open, but looking at the draw that’s just been drawn, the Serb seems to be the clear favorite, with a decent autobahn up to the crucial stages.
In fact, Novak has avoided virtually all truly dangerous players, including seedlings in his field who come from far from positive times and whose stock prices have fallen dangerously. In the quarter-finals he caught Tsitsipas, to say the least, at a difficult point in his year with serious technical problems that have been plaguing him for several months, and so there is Auger-Aliassime who, after a fabulous second part, is certainly the disappointment of 2023 2022, or Fritz, unlike in the summer, he really disappointed. The first seed Djokovic could hit is Djere, an excellent player but that should be nothing more than good competition training for the Serb. Few other loose guns, the only Francisco Cerundolo, one who shoots hard and knows how to play on concrete but still the victim of too many other and short guns to be considered truly dangerous. In the semifinals Ruud or Rune, And this is where the first headaches could come in, but the young Dane has back problems so his form needs to be checked and Ruud has always been badly ‘knocked down’ by Novak. The 23-time Grand Slam champion has not competed in the tournament since the horrific final defeat to Medvedev that cost him the Grand Slam. Everything indicates that he wants great revenge on everything and everyone, and the fierceness with which he fought to the last drop of energy in Cincinnati shows how motivated and ready he is to fight.
On the other hand, reigning champions Alcaraz are obviously the favourites. It’s never easy to repeat yourself, but Carlos is a true champion. That’s why we expect him to be cheeky in every game, ready to hit big and have a smile on his face. A decent draw for him in the first rounds, from the round of 16 it gets more complex. Norrie is not at his best this summer but he is a great fighter and if he manages to challenge the Spaniard he could get him in trouble as he proved in the final he won in Rio last February. In the quarterfinals he could find Zverev or Sinner. Here it is logical to rewind the tape to 12 months ago when Jannik and Carlos produced five hours of sensational tennis, Match of the YearUnfortunately, the blue ones were not transformed on the match point serve. sliding doors With Tiafoe and Ruud as his next opponents, it might have been Jannik who would have become the third consecutive new Grand Slam winner in the tournament… He didn’t make it. Could he make it this year? Certainly the blue has had a very solid 2023. There were very few unexpected setbacks, the two worst defeats were certainly those at Roland Garros and last week in Cincinnati, where he nevertheless recorded the first 1000 wins of his career. That year, Sinner and Alcaraz faced each other on concrete in America in the Sunshine Double and won one each (3 even in total). Not much can be done about that: the entire tennis world is dying for this challenge to occur again. Who could win it? It’s still too early to tell. Let’s see how they get into the tournament. We’ll have time – just in case – to talk about it again.
In the second sector of the draw, Medvedev is the favorite to reach the semifinals. This is his tournament where he played better on average. His path has some pitfalls, Coric or De Minaur, but especially in the quarterfinals he will face one of the most difficult: Hurkacz, Khachanov, Rublev or maybe Berrettini, inserted right into Andrey’s slot. An outstanding Daniil could sweep anyone, but he didn’t like losing his last two 1000m games in North America. He enjoyed greatly shortening the seasons and getting bogged down in the crucial phases, stepping back into his 2022, where he got caught in exactly that whirlpool. His start to 2023 was sensational after a poor Australian Open, he also won in Rome and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon. Medvedev is the third real favorite behind Djokovic and Alcarazbut he must be good at managing the fear of the game better, nobody will cut corners in this tough tournament.
blue chapter While waiting for qualification we have 4 in the upper range and 2 in the lower range. Seen at number 6, Sinner is obviously the most anticipated. Debut against a dangerous tennis player like Hanfmann, better that way, at least he has to get into the tournament climate immediately and raise his level. If you want to win a Grand Slam it is important to start strong and not lose physical and mental energy. A few laps that are too “comfortable” often deceive you about your condition and you get into serious trouble with the first tough opponent. There could be a derby in the second round Sonego is waiting for a qualified one. Certainly “Sonny” doesn’t have a really good relationship with Lady Luck at the Grand Slams this year…
Arnaldi has a very interesting first round match against Australia’s Kübler, someone who plays tennis really well but has had a thousand problems throughout his career. The Ligurian has to be very aggressive, serve well and approach the game directly, on the other hand he can hide the ball from you when it’s the order of the day. If they win, it will be difficult against Griekspoor or Fils in the second round. “Arna” must maintain a good level… Not a bad debut for Berrettini against Frenchman Humbert. The left-hander from Metz plays well, but the intensity of his tennis often fluctuates and his reaction is not always consistent. If Matteo serves like he did at Wimbledon, the match is within reach and the second round (Schwartzman or Rinderknech) could be even more playable. Safe storm in the third roundit will definitely run and fight against Rublev, Monfils or Ruusuvuori.
Cecchinato caught the Russian Safiullin, it will depend a lot on Roman: if it’s the same day and he feels the ball he could be a very complicated opponent on hard courts but on the contrary if he’s having one of his lazy days the Sicilian could also hit the ball big time (and concede that the “Ceck” has had very little luck in this tournament so far). Remain Lorenzo Musetti, seeded at number 18, will make his debut against a qualifierand then eventually find Barrere or someone else from the cadet board. It all depends on “Muso”: This summer he alternated excellent tennis, intensity and offensive readiness with self-destructive moments of rare gloom… To do well in a tough Grand Slam like the US Open, you need maximum focus and strength, confidence and the conviction to win. A good pass with the towel to the awful loss to Medvedev in Cincinnati and start all over again, feeling the ball and attacking. The hope is that Lorenzo can be the surprise for Italy in this tournament. Happy US Open everyone!
Marco Mazzoni
