US Open Preview: Alcaraz set for title defence

With three Grand Slams behind them the best of the best from the ATP Tour head to New York’s Flushing Meadows for the fourth and final Slam of the year.

We preview the key players from both the men’s and women’s singles below.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz has taken the ATP Tour by storm this year and the Spaniard will be heading to Flushing Meadows looking to defend what was his first ever Grand Slam title.

Alcaraz has proven this season that he is a truly elite player on every surface and the hard court is no exception to that. He has three ATP Tour titles on hard courts to his name, with those being two on the Masters 1000 Series and one Grand Slam, not the worst record.

He recently reached the Cincinnati Masters final where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic but Alcaraz, even though he is still only 20 years old, has all the experience he needs to bounce back from that and perform as his odds would suggest with the Spaniard second-favourite to win the tournament at 7/4.

Daniil Medvedev

While some may see the Grand Slams as a two-horse race at the moment between Alcaraz and Djokovic, world number three Daniil Medvedev may have a point to prove in New York.

Medvedev is one of the most experienced players on the tour and his record proves that he should be full of confidence heading into Flushing Meadows. Medvedev has 20 ATP Tour titles to his name with a whopping 18 of those coming on hard court.

In addition to that Medvedev has four hard court Grand Slam finals under his belt including a win here back in 2021. A price of 9/1 could prove great value for a player who will be looking for a semi-final appearance at the very least.

Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek is the young star on the women’s tour and at just 22 years-of-age she already has four Grand slams to her name including the 2022 US Open.

She won the tournament in emphatic fashion last year defeating Ons Jabeur in straight sets in the final, and has gone on to win three more hard court titles on the WTA Tour since then which gives her every right to enter the US Open this year as the 5/2 favourite.

Despite still being one of the younger players towards the top of the WTA rankings she handles the pressure of big occasions well. She also has great experience against other top players winning 65% of her matches against other top 10 ranked players, something which she will likely have to do at least once if she is to successfully defend her title.

Elena Rybakina

Elena Rybakina is another one of the top players on the WTA Tour who has a Grand Slam title to her name which she achieved with success at Wimbledon in 2022. She currently ranks fourth in the world and at just 24 could still have a lot of improvement in her game.

She will have extra motivation coming into the US Open as she has never kicked on at the tournament. At both the Australian Open and Wimbledon she has reached the final, but at the US Open she has never made it past the third round.

Rybakina’s struggles at the US Open can’t be put down to a lack of hard court ability with two of her five WTA Tour victories coming on the surface, so at 8/1 she may well be one to watch for a career best effort here.

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