US Open 24 Preview

The end of August signals the final Grand Slam of the tennis season, the US Open, which will be played at the Billie Jean King Centre in New York. We’ve taken a closer look at the upcoming tournament!

The tournament will start with the qualification matches, which take place between the 19th and 22nd of August with the main draw commencing on 26th August. The tournament concludes with the men’s final which will take place on the 8th September. The draw for the tournament will take place on Thursday 22nd August. Prize money for the winner amounts to $3.6 Million with the runner up pocketing $1.8 Million and semi-finalists going home with $1 Million.

So far this season the star has been Carlos Alcaraz, who claimed the French Open and followed that up with retaining his Wimbledon title. The first Grand Slam of the season, the Australian Open, was won by Italian Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic finally got his hands on his much coveted gold medal in Paris.

The women’s side has been even more open with three separate winners of the Grand Slams so far and one of the stars of the year has been Jasmine Paolini performing well in all three tournaments and winning the gold medal in the doubles in Paris. The Australian Open was won by Aryna Sabalenka, the French Open was claimed by Iga Swiatek and Wimbledon was won by Barbora Krejcikova. China’s Zheng Qinwen took home the gold this summer in France.

Last year the US Open titles went to Novak Djokovic and Coco Guaff and both will be amongst the favourites to repeat their success. Djokovic would love to end the season with one Grand Slam title, having come so close at Wimbledon. His Paris triumph will motivate him and even if he doesn’t have any more success this year he will view this year as a positive one as he managed to complete a career Golden Slam, only the fifth player in history to do so. Coco Gauff’s win last year made her the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999 and she also managed to reach the semi-finals at both the Australian and French Open.

Men’s Singles

This summer has been unbelievable for tennis fans. After an electric Wimbledon that saw Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz defeat Novak Djokovic in the final, the two met again in the gold medal match in Paris. Djokovic found revenge with a 7-6, 7-6 victory over Alcaraz in Paris to add another medal to his resume. The chances of a repeat final are reasonably high but there are plenty of others who will have their say. Should these two meet in the US Open it will be the ninth time that they have played each other with Djokovic holding the upper hand with five wins to Alcaraz’s three. They have only met twice on hardcourt, with Djokovic winning both matches and the chances are that the draw will keep them apart at least until the semi-finals. It is highly unlikely that we will see Rafael Nadal compete as he continues to struggle with injuries and he has stated he is likely to save himself for the Laver Cup in Berlin.

Top ten ATP rankings:

1-Jannik Sinner (Italy)

2- Novak Djokovic (Serbia)

3- Carlos Alcaraz (Spain)

4- Alexander Zverev (Germany)

5- Danill Medvedev (Russia)

6- Andrey Rublev (Russia)

7- Hubert Hurkacz (Poland)

8- Casper Ruud (Norway)

9- Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria)

10- Alex de Minaur (Australia)

Women’s Singles

On the women’s side of the draw, it’s not surprising that Iga Swiatek is the favourite considering that she is the number one ranked player in the world. She might have been expecting a win in France, but lost out to eventual winner Zheng Qinwen. After that success, she might be worth backing and her odds are quite favourable. Naomi Osaka has won this tournament two times but she will be playing in it for the first time in two years after her loss in the opening round in 2022. Her last Grand Slam triumph came back in 2021, the Australian Open, but she remains a potentially dangerous opponent. The women’s side of the draw remains open and results in other Grand Slams this year have shown that a surprise is very possible. She is the only player other than Serena Williams who has managed more than one US Open win since 2010 with the last three titles going to Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek and Emma Raducanu.

Top ten WTA rankings:

1- Iga Swiatek (Poland)

2- Coco Gauff (USA)

3- Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus)

4- Elena Rybakina (Kazakhstan)

5- Jasmine Paolini (Italy)

6- Jessica Pegula (USA)

7- Qinwen Zheng (China)

8- Maria Sakkari (Greece)

9- Barbora Krejcikova (Czech)

10- Danielle Collins (USA)

Predictions

Alcaraz rightfully enters this tournament as the betting favourite. The Spaniard really didn’t play his best tennis at the French Open or Wimbledon, but he was still able to add two more majors to his impressive resume. Alcaraz should be more dangerous in Flushing Meadows than he was at either of the previous events. Djokovic struggled against Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, but making it to that point was an accomplishment in itself. Djokovic had surgery in early June and was not expected to even play at the All England Club. The 24-time Grand Slam champion got himself on the court and gave himself a chance. And overall, he played better tennis than he had at any point in the 2024 season. He’s trending in a positive direction and should be a contender in New York. Sinner won the 2024 Australian Open, the only other hard-court major of the season. So, the Italian will head to New York with supreme confidence. His ability to bomb serves, hit the ball from the baseline and also defend the court at a high level should make him a champion in Arthur Ashe Stadium one day.

Sabalenka was unable to play at Wimbledon, as she had a shoulder injury that was too tough to play through. She now heads back to New York, where she lost in the final in 2023. Sabalenka’s power makes her a real force on these courts and she will feel good about her chances against anybody outside of Gauff, whose massive home-court advantage caused Sabalenka to unravel in last year’s final. Swiatek is coming off another disappointing Wimbledon run, but she has never been a good grass-court performer. The Pole has a much better shot at winning the US Open, which she actually won in 2022. Swiatek is definitely at her very best at clay, but the courts in New York are slow enough for her to still play her brand of world-class defence, and her big topspin forehand is still a weapon in these conditions. Rybakina suffered a very disappointing loss to eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon semi-finals. Krejcikova is a great all-court performer, but Rybakina had her chances there. And overall, she’s viewed as the top grass-court player in the women’s game. The good news is that Rybakina’s ability to serve makes her a threat on all surfaces, so she should be a contender at the US Open. She has never been beyond the third round here, but that is bound to change soon. Gauff is arguably the player to beat in New York, the fans gravitate towards her in a special way, creating one of the most unique environments in tennis. The crowd visibly gets to Gauff’s opponents, causing them to miss shots they normally make. The American is then able to outlast them with her top class defence.

The US Open certainly has much to live up to following the excitement generated over the last few months in the world of tennis. The chances are we’ll see some excellent clashes between the top players later on in the tournament and perhaps a surprise or two along the way. One thing is for sure, the final Grand Slam of the season will want to sign off in style.

Last Edited: 21.08.2024