Wednesday, November 20, 2024
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2024 US Open preview: Can Gauff and Alcaraz repeat?

ndowd
Aug 24, 2024, 10:23 AM ET

After an entertaining season full of dominant performances, skyrocketing superstars and an abnormal amount of surface changes, we’ve finally made it to the last Grand Slam tournament of the year. And trust us when we say: The 2024 US Open could be one to remember.

While Rafael Nadal won’t be competing in New York this year, there are still so many players and storylines to watch. From newly minted Olympic gold medalist Novak Djokovic‘s quest to win his first major of the season and record-breaking 25th overall, to Coco Gauff‘s defense mission and the collective hopes for the American men to stop the now-21-year Slam title drought, there will be no shortage of drama or compelling themes.

Here’s everything you need to know about the tournament before the main draw gets underway on Monday in Flushing Meadows.

Novak’s wild year

To say it’s been a roller-coaster season for Novak Djokovic might be the understatement of, well, the season. After winning the 2023 US Open — and tying Margaret Court’s long-standing record of 24 major titles — Djokovic had big dreams for 2024. But it hasn’t gone to plan. While he had publicly said he wanted to win all four Slams and Olympic gold, Djokovic lost in the semifinals at the Australian Open and then failed to win a title, of any kind, until the Olympics earlier this month.

Djokovic tore the meniscus in his right knee during the French Open, forcing him to withdraw ahead of his quarterfinal match. He had surgery days later, returning with a knee brace in time for Wimbledon. There, he reached the final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. Then the 37-year-old Djokovic got his season back on track with an impressive run in Paris at the Olympic Games, defeating Alcaraz in the final and claiming his first-ever gold medal. He later told reporters the achievement was the “biggest sporting success I’ve ever had in my career.”

So now, with the elusive Olympic hardware finally secured, Djokovic returns to New York with perhaps the most confidence he’s had all season after playing some truly phenomenal tennis against Alcaraz just weeks ago. Opting to skip defending his title in Cincinnati this month for a proper celebration in his native Serbia, the No. 2-ranked Djokovic is now on-site and looking for his fifth US Open title.

Back-to-back for Coco?

Coco Gauff won her first major title last year at the US Open and has since become a global superstar. The 20-year-old even carried the American flag during the opening ceremony at the Olympics and is currently featured on her very own Wheaties box.

But on the court, this season has been bumpy. After opening the year with the title at Auckland, Gauff has yet to win another tournament. She reached the semifinals at both the Australian Open and the French Open — and won the doubles title at Roland Garros with Katerina Siniakova. But the last few months have been challenging. Last summer, she dominated on the hard court, winning the Washington Open and Cincinnati in 2023 in addition to the US Open. This year, she has a 1-2 record after the Olympics and lost in her opening-round match in Cincinnati. Now Gauff arrives in New York looking to rediscover her form on the surface and capture her second major title.

It won’t be easy. Gauff will face Varvara Gracheva in the first round and could potentially face Elina Svitolina in the third round and Emma Navarro in the fourth. But she will have the raucous crowd on her side, and she knows what it takes to win in New York.

Home-court advantage?

Gauff is one of several Americans with a legitimate chance to emerge victorious at the end of the fortnight. In fact, for the first time since October 1996 — more than seven years before Gauff was born — there are five American women and five American men ranked in the top 20 in the WTA and ATP rankings.

In addition to Gauff, who is currently ranked No. 3, Jessica Pegula is No. 6, Danielle Collins is No. 11, Navarro is No. 13 and Madison Keys is No. 14. Few arrive in New York with as much momentum as Pegula, who just won her second straight title at the Canadian Open and then reached the final in Cincinnati the following week.

And because, well, tennis, and anything can happen, fellow countrywomen Taylor Townsend and Amanda Anisimova are also worth keeping an eye on as the tournament gets underway. Townsend is ranked a career-high No. 46 after a monumental summer that saw her reach the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open and the round of 16 in Cincinnati — coming through qualifying in both events. She also won the doubles titles at Wimbledon and the Washington Open.

In her two hard-court tournaments, Anisimova, currently ranked No. 49, reached the quarterfinals at the Washington Open and then made the final in Toronto, where she lost to Pegula in three sets. Anisimova, who took a break from the sport in 2023, told reporters after the match that she hoped to further her momentum.

“I was trying my best, I tried different game plans, but it didn’t work in my favor today, so just going to try and learn from it,” Anisimova said. “I think it was a great experience and a great opportunity I had today to be in a final, so, yeah, I think that at the end of the day I can just take away that I played an amazing player … and I’m just going to go from there and build on this.”

Anisimova will have to bring her best tennis from the start, as she is slated to take on 2024 Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng in the first round.

On the men’s side, Taylor Fritz (No. 12), Ben Shelton (No. 13), Tommy Paul (No. 14), Sebastian Korda (No. 16) and Frances Tiafoe (No. 20) will all be looking to snap the major title drought for American men, which is now old enough to drink alcohol. Andy Roddick was the last countryman to win a Slam singles title, which he did at the US Open in 2003.

But this year — and specifically this tournament — might be the best chance in some time to reverse fortunes for the men of the red, white and blue. Korda won the title at the Washington Open and reached the semifinals in Montreal. Shelton, a 2023 US Open semifinalist, advanced to the final four at the Washington Open. Tiafoe, a 2022 US Open semifinalist, did as well in Washington, D.C., and he followed that up by making the final in Cincinnati with an impressive semifinal victory over Holger Rune (including one of the wildest points of the summer).

And while Fritz and Paul — who both reached the quarters at Wimbledon this year — haven’t fared quite as well on the hard courts this month, the two won a bronze medal together in Paris and could find their form at exactly the right time with the crowd firmly behind them.

The favorites

While the Americans will certainly have the support of the crowd and will be getting a large share of the attention and show court scheduling, technically none of them is among the oddsmakers’ favorites to win either the men’s or women’s crowns.

For the men, in addition to Djokovic, those would be Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon earlier this summer, in addition to his Olympic silver medal, and is the 2022 US Open champion. The 21-year-old was upset in his opening-round match at Cincinnati — his lone hard-court warmup event — by Gael Monfils, but it’s hard to think he won’t up his level once the US Open gets underway.

The No. 3 seed at the tournament, Alcaraz is in the same half of the draw as Sinner (and Daniil Medvedev), and they would potentially meet in the semifinals.

Sinner, the current world No. 1 and reigning Australian Open champion, missed the Olympics due to tonsillitis but appears to be back to full health. He reached the quarterfinals at the Canadian Open and then won the title in Cincinnati earlier this week. During his run in Ohio, the 23-year-old defeated Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev before beating Tiafoe in the final 7-6 (4), 6-2.

While clearly a force on the hard court, Sinner will likely be facing a slew of questions and scrutiny following the revelation this week that he tested positive for a banned substance during two drug tests in March. Because the violation was ultimately found to be “not intentional,” Sinner has not been suspended and remains in the draw — and the top seed — at the US Open. But don’t be surprised to hear questions about the tests, comments from his peers or even heckles from the always demure, always mindful New York crowd.

Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek are the betting favorites for the women’s title. Sabalenka, the two-time defending Australian Open champion and 2023 US Open runner-up, is fresh off the title at Cincinnati — and an impressive 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swiatek in the semifinals — and has a 9-2 record this summer on the surface. She returned to No. 2 in the rankings and will look to ride her momentum back to the final in New York. Sabalenka will face a qualifier in her opener.

Swiatek, the world No. 1 and 2022 US Open champion, won her fifth major title at the French Open in June but hasn’t lived up to her lofty (read: sky high) standards since. She lost in the third round at Wimbledon and then settled for the bronze medal at the Olympics. Cincinnati marked her only hard-court event before arriving in New York. However, despite her tricky stretch (again, perhaps only by her standards), if anyone can find a way to win, it’s Swiatek.

Swiatek, who also will play a qualifier in her first-round match, would meet Sabalenka or Gauff only in the final, but still would face some tough challenges in order to get there. Mirra Andreeva, the 17-year-old rising star who reached the semifinals at the French Open, is a potential fourth-round opponent, and Pegula or Collins could await in the quarters. Jasmine Paolini, a French Open and Wimbledon finalist this year, is a possible semifinal foe, as is Elena Rybakina or Jelena Ostapenko.

Major farewell

Because the US Open is the last major of the year, it also marks the final Slam for several players who announced that the 2024 season would be their final one on tour.

Perhaps no one has generated more headlines for her decision than Collins, 30, who made the announcement at the Australian Open. Since then, she has won two titles (Miami and Charleston), returned to the top 10 and made her first Olympic team. But while she continues to field questions about reconsidering her decision, she remains steadfast about her impending retirement.

“I want to go out really playing on a high level, and I want people to remember me for the tennis that I was playing,” Collins told ESPN ahead of the French Open. “Some players are almost forced into retirement, due to an injury and then falling out of the top 100, and that defines the end of their career. This has been really empowering in the way that I’ve been able to make the decision to retire on my own terms and have the ability to choose. I could choose to continue to play, but I’m choosing to retire.”

After suffering an abdominal strain, Collins was forced to miss the tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati but returned this week in Monterrey. She lost in her opening-round match to Erika Andreeva, but no matter how she fares in Queens, expect more than a few “Come on!” screams and an adoring ovation from the crowd.

Collins’ fellow countrywoman and Billie Jean King Cup teammate Shelby Rogers announced she would be retiring from tennis following the US Open. The 31-year-old Rogers, who reached a career high of No. 30 and was a 2020 US Open quarterfinalist, shared her decision with a post on social media on Friday.

“My heart will always love this sport, and I hope I can pass along some inspiration to the next generation of players to dream big and keep growing the beautiful game of tennis,” Rogers wrote. “I am very much looking forward to this next chapter of my life … but I can’t wait to see y’all in NY for one more US Open!”

Dominic Thiem, the 2020 US Open champion and former world No. 3, has struggled for the past few seasons with a wrist injury and will be hanging up his racket after an event in Vienna in October. Receiving a wild card for entry, Thiem, 30, will play his final major at the site of his biggest career triumph. His run might be short-lived, though, as he will face Shelton in the first round.

And Donald Young, a much-hyped American as the top-ranked junior player in the world who later peaked at No. 38 in the professional ranks, will officially retire from the sport following a mixed doubles appearance with Townsend. Young, 35, has transitioned to pickleball in recent years, but Townsend said this would be his “last hurrah” in an interview with the WTA. Townsend’s first coach was Young’s father, Donald Sr., and she said partnering with Young for his final event was a no-brainer.

“He’s retiring so he asked me to play,” Townsend said. “I was like, you’re the reason I believed I could play any sort of pro tennis, because he’s the closest I was around to it. It would be an honor for me to play with you and share the court for you on your retirement.”

The two reached the semifinals together at the US Open in 2014. Will they be able to re-create that same magic a decade later? Stay tuned.

Champions return

While Thiem is looking for a fitting farewell, and some other returning champions, such as Djokovic, Gauff, Alcaraz and Swiatek, are looking to secure additional hardware during the tournament, other former winners are just looking to get back on track.

Naomi Osaka, who won in 2018 and 2020, is back after missing the 2023 tournament following the birth of her daughter. The former No. 1 returned to competition at the start of the season and has been trying to regain her form all year. She has had some resurgent performances (including a blockbuster showdown with Swiatek at the French Open) but has yet to advance past the quarterfinals of any tournament.

After the loss to Swiatek in Paris, Osaka said the match gave her confidence to play Swiatek later in the season, and for the US Open.

“I’m a hard-court kid, so I would love to play her on my surface and see what happens,” she said. “Yeah, I also said in Australia that I’m kind of setting myself up for September anyway.”

Osaka, who reached the second round in Toronto and then lost in qualifying in Cincinnati, revealed in a candid Instagram post that she had been struggling recently on the court but was hoping she would figure it out soon.

“My biggest issue currently isn’t losses though, my biggest issue is that I don’t feel like I’m in my body,” she wrote. “It’s a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn’t miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to. I try and tell myself, ‘It’s fine, you’re doing great, just get through this one and keep pushing.’ Mentally it’s really draining though. Internally I hear myself screaming, ‘What the hell is happening?!?!'”

Osaka will have little time to ease into the tournament as she faces the always-challenging Ostapenko, the No. 10 seed, in the first round.

Medvedev, the 2021 victor, reached the final in Melbourne to start the year and the semifinals at Wimbledon, but he also has had some issues on hard court, his preferred surface, and lost his opening matches in both Montreal and Cincinnati. A fan favorite in New York, Medvedev is surely hoping to find another gear under the bright lights.

Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 champion, and Emma Raducanu, the 2021 champion, are also looking to recapture their former glory. Neither has won a title since their respective runs in New York. Andreescu shared some of her journey from the 2019 title to the present in a piece for the Players’ Tribune this week.

“There was a time when I lost my joy in tennis. But I found it again,” Andreescu wrote. “And I learned that I will always love tennis deep in my heart, no matter what. It has given me so much. So much that whenever I leave the tunnel and step out onto the court, I always feel a bit of that magic from before. I still think that anything is possible.”

Olympic woes

It’s been a long season, and the past few months have seen players go from the hard court to the clay to the grass, and then back to clay for the Olympics, and then — with just days in between for some — back to the hard court. It’s a challenge for even the best of players, as each surface has different characteristics and requires a variety of adjustments and tactics. Swiatek complained about the schedule in an interview with Sky Sports last week in Cincinnati. “It’s not our decision but for sure I think we have too many tournaments in the season,” Swiatek said. “It’s not going to end well.”

Other players, like Korda, Sabalenka and Tiafoe, even cited the additional surface change and the incredibly tight schedule as their reason for skipping the Olympics this year.

“I felt this year that I just needed to just play on the hard courts,” Korda said during the Washington Open. “It’s an important time of the year for me. I don’t have a lot of points also to defend. Just wanted to be home.

“I was in Europe for close to three months, I think over three months. Yeah, just wanted to be home, play a tournament in the United States, just try and play better for the rest of the year.”

It will be interesting to see how players who chose to return to the Parisian clay and miss the beginning of the hard-court season fare in comparison to those who switched to the surface after Wimbledon, and it will certainly be a talking point throughout the tournament.


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