At this year’s US Open there will be an absence of tennis royalty with Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Venus Williams all out of this year’s tournament. However, there is still plenty of eye-catching talent that will have you either riveted to your seat or jumping on your feet! We serve up Tennis: US Open – 5 Players to Look Out For!
1. Novak Djokovic
With Nadal and Federer out of this year’s US Open due to injury, Djokovic has the chance to put himself ahead of his fierce rivals.
After the Serbian’s failure to win Olympic gold in Tokyo, Novak Djokovic will be looking to put all that behind him and claim a historic 21st Grand Slam Men’s title at Flushing Meadows.
At the same time, the world number 1 also has the chance to complete a ‘calendar slam’ by winning all 4 majors in the same year, a feat only achieved by 5 players in history. With all this to think about, will the pressure be too much?
2. Naomi Osaka
It’s been a difficult few months for the 2-time US Open champion. She started the year brilliantly by winning the Australian Open but later struggled with her mental health and withdrew from the French Open. Since then she hasn’t quite found consistency, leading to early disappointment in the Olympics and the Cincinnati Masters.
Despite this, Osaka, known for her aggressive baseline play, is usually in her element at Flushing Meadows and if she regains form and confidence, nobody comes close!
3. Alexander Zverev
Germany’s Alexander Zverev will be looking to ride the wave of achieving Olympic gold (beating Djokovic along the way) and redeem himself after losing last year’s US Open to Dominic Thiem after being 2 sets up.
The world’s number 4 is on hot form, recently winning the Cincinnati Masters and will look to finally claim the first Grand Slam of his career.
4. Ashleigh Barty
World number 1, Ashleigh Barty, is having a stellar year and is in the form of her career. The current Wimbledon champion, like Zverev also won the Cincinnati Masters recently and will be looking to capitalise on this momentum.
However, she has been handed a difficult draw with potential clashes against French Open champion Iga Swiatek followed by Bianca Andreescu who won the US Open in 2019. Despite this, the Australian is a strong favourite who plenty of pundits have put their money on.
5. Daniil Medvedev
2019’s runner up, Daniil Medvedev will also be looking to claim his first major this year.
The 6’6” Russian is 38-5 on hard courts since November and is playing with supreme confidence on the speedy hard courts that he favours most.
After recently winning the Canada Masters he’ll look to double down and use his baseline superiority to dominate. After losing his only 2 Grand Slam finals, could it be ‘third time’s the charm’?
Novak Djokovic will be desperate to make history, but the exciting ‘next gen’ contenders will certainly not make that an easy task. Ashleigh Barty looks to cement herself as the best player in the world, but will Osaka prove the doubters wrong and reclaim her throne? It’s all to play for at Flushing Meadows this year and is it is definitely a tournament you won’t want to miss!
Who are your fave tennis stars featuring at the US Open this year? Let us know in the comments below, and join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram!
