Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are on a U.S. Open collision course as the ultimate Grand Slam event of season will get underneath approach Monday with American teenager Coco Gauff chasing a breakthrough first main title.
A little bit greater than six weeks after world No. 1 Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in an enthralling finale to the Wimbledon championships, the 2 males may meet once more at Flushing Meadows if the seedings go to play over the following fortnight.
Djokovic and Alcaraz whetted the tennis world’s urge for food for one more blockbuster showdown on the Cincinnati Open final week, with 23-time Grand Slam singles winner Djokovic downing the 20-year-old Spaniard in a four-hour basic.
Djokovic, 36, is making a long-awaited return to the U.S. Open this yr after his refusal to be vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19 meant he was unable to achieve entry to the United States.
In Djokovic’s absence ultimately yr’s event, Alcaraz introduced his arrival on the world stage with an excellent run to his first U.S. Open crown.
Second seed Djokovic, who opens his marketing campaign on the Arthur Ashe major enviornment in opposition to France’s Alexandre Muller on Monday, says Alcaraz’s relentless, swashbuckling type is paying homage to Rafael Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion who misses this yr’s U.S. Open as a consequence of harm.
“Each point is a hustle. Each point is a battle. You feel like you’re not going to get maybe in total five free points in the entire match,” Djokovic stated of Alcaraz.
“You’ve got to basically earn every single point, every single shot, regardless of the conditions.”
Alcaraz, who faces Germany’s Dominik Koepfer within the first spherical Tuesday, stated he’s flattered by the Nadal comparability.
“It’s great that he knows that every time he’s going to play against me, it reminds him playing against Rafa or against the best ones because that means we are in a good path,” he stated.
Djokovic will reclaim the world No. 1 rating with a victory over Muller on Monday, no matter how Alcaraz performs within the event.
The Spaniard, in the meantime, should navigate a difficult path to the ultimate that would embrace 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev and Italy’s Jannik Sinner.
Gauff chasing breakthrough
In the ladies’s event in the meantime, all eyes shall be on the in-form 19-year-old Gauff, who’s chasing a primary Grand Slam title that will make her solely the fifth Black lady within the open period to win the U.S. Open.
After struggling within the early a part of the season, Gauff felt she had hit all-time low after exiting within the first spherical at Wimbledon.
But the addition of veteran guru Brad Gilbert to her teaching crew has sparked a metamorphosis in her type and fortunes.
She gained the Washington Open in early August, reached the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open in Montreal after which scored an excellent victory within the Cincinnati Open – her first WTA 1000 title.
The win in Cincinnati included a morale-boosting first ever victory over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, the defending U.S. Open champion.
Gauff, who may face Swiatek within the quarterfinals in New York, says her late season resurgence is the results of a shift in mindset.
“I think now I’m going in with a lot more confidence,” the sixth-seeded teenager stated Friday.
“I feel like no matter the scoreline in the match, I can be able to problem solve and troubleshoot my way out.”
I do know I can win matches not taking part in my greatest recreation now … I do really feel I’m far more assured in my B or C recreation.”
Poland’s Swiatek in the meantime says she is step by step studying to dwell with the truth that as world No. 1, she is the participant everybody needs to beat.
“If you want to be the best player in the world, you have to be ready for that,” Swiatek stated.
“You should not actually overanalyze it or give it some thought. You ought to simply play the sport the identical approach as you’d in case your rating could be decrease.
“You just have to use the experience and the confidence, but still remember that the most important thing is to develop as a player.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com
