As the last grand slam of 2019 gears up we take a look at the probable winners at the Flushing Meadows for the men’s challengers and also at some of the recent breakout stars.
Daniil Medvedev
A discussion cannot begin without mentioning Daniil Medvedev. The Russian has reached 3 finals in the last 3 ATPs and has played some of the finest tennis on tour. Losing to phenomenal players like Nadal and Kyrgios in Washington and the Rogers Cup, Daniil finally grabbed his 5th ATP in Cincinnati proving that he’s truly a winner. Daniil’s resilience is fantastic as is his attacking play. Playing on hard courts for the last three ATPs, the Russian has shown the crowd that he is one solid competitor and can surely be one to look out for.
Nick Kyrgios, Sascha Zverev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas
Apart from Daniil, Nick Kyrgios too has had quite a fine run into the US Open. Winning in Washington in fine style, Nick is in search of an inspirational move into becoming one of the top players. He will surely be extremely hungry to get some slams on his CV. Both Tsitsipas and Zverev haven’t been at their finest or most convincing best lately nor have they performed in grand slams as well as some of the others. But only time can tell what they will conjure up because they are capable of some solid magic when they are at their best.
Novak Djokovic
Apart from these stoic competitors, a player to really put money on to win the slam has to be Novak Djokovic. He has had a wonderful season throughout, leaving out minor blips here and there. He has played great and reached 16 Grand Slam titles in his haul and would definitely want to add more to reach Nadal and Federer’s record.
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer
Rafa’s win in the Rogers Cup should give him a strong boost for the slam and overcome the Djoker onslaught. Also, his smart move to play in Canada and consequently skip Cincinnati gave him enough practice and also enough rest running up to the slam. Unlike this stratagem, Roger Federer missed out on Canada to recover from the strenuous grass-court season. He played in Cincinnati but was dismal in performance and some would probably say missed out on some good practice ahead of the Slam. Nevertheless, Federer has been disproving people for ages and he still remains a very strong competitor and probably one to cause upset to Djokovic or Nadal if no one else can.
Apart from these greats, there are many new players on tour. For instance, Federer’s first-round opponent Sumit Nagal from India plays his first Grand Slam after a most tense encounter in the qualifiers. Jack Sinner from Italy, the youngest player in the top 200 rankings, plays against Stan Wawrinka, being one of the break-out stars to be named. Thus, as old skills meet new energy, this should be a most wonderful fortnight ahead and quite the treat to the tennis fans.
Daniil Medvedev’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no. 5 (career-high), Medvedev has played his last match on the 18th of August when he defeated David Goffin 7-63 6-4 in the final in Cincinnati to win his 5th career title.
This year Daniil has a 43-16 win-loss record. Medvedev has won 2 titles Cincinnati and Sofia. Medvedev was the finalist in Montreal, Washington, Barcelona and Brisbane.
Stefanos Tsitsipas’s ranking and performance in 2019
Ranked no. 8, Stefanos has played his last match on the 14th of August when he lost Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 6-75 7-66 in the 2nd round in Cincinnati.
This year the Greek has a 37-18 win-loss record. Tsitsipas has won 2 titles Estoril and Marseille. Stefanos was the finalist in Madrid and Dubai.
Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas played each other 4 times. The head to head is 4-0 for Medvedev.
The last time that they locked horns, won 6-2 1-6 6-4 in the 3rd round in Monte Carlo back in April 2019.
| CAN THEY MAKE IT? |
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