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The year’s final Grand Slam tournament is here and all eyes will be on world number one Novak Djokovic as the Serb attempts to bounce back from poor showings at Wimbledon and the Rio Olympics.
The Djoker had his Grand Slam winning streak ended when he was sent packing in the third round at the All England Club, while his gold medal bid in Rio failed to clear its first hurdle when he was upset by Juan Martin del Potro in the first round.
His recent failures will have rivals such as Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal on high alert as he seeks redemption in New York City.
Murray, Nadal and Stan Wawrinka will again be expected to challenge defending champion Djokovic for the title, while del Potro will loom as a dangerous floater following his stunning run to the silver medal in Rio.
Let’s now have a look at some of the contenders for the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, starting with the defending champion, Novak Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Current world ranking: 1
Titles won this season to date: Doha, Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, French Open
US Open history
Best result: Won twice (2011 and 2015)
Last year’s result: Won
Grand Slam results this year to date
Australian Open: Won
French Open: Won
Wimbledon: Third round
Rio Olympics result: First round
If there’s one man still hurting from his early departure from the Rio Olympics, it’s world number one Novak Djokovic.
The Serb entered Rio as the hot favourite to finally claim the gold medal, completing the golden Career Slam in the process, but that bid was shattered in the first round when he was defeated by Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets.
Also taking into consideration his early exit at Wimbledon, which ended a streak of 28 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals, the Djoker suddenly looks vulnerable but will be expected to bounce back at Flushing Meadows, where he reached his first Grand Slam final in 2007 and, as mentioned before, reigned in 2011 and 2015.
Before his failures at the Olympics and Wimbledon, he was on the verge of putting together another season of dominance, winning the Australian and French Open titles as well as Masters titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid.
The victory at Roland Garros saw him complete a career Grand Slam and it appeared as though he was halfway to the Golden Calendar Slam, something no man has ever achieved in the history of tennis.
That was until his shock third round loss to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon put paid to those hopes, in addition to the aforementioned loss in Rio delaying his bid to complete the Golden Career Slam by another four years.
Even if he were to suffer an unlikely first round loss at the US Open (and Andy Murray goes on to win it), the Djoker would still remain the world number one by a long mile.
However, the Serb will be expected to again go deep as he has done at all but one major appearances since mid-2009, and in saying that it will remain to be seen how he bounces back after a poor past two months.
Prediction: Champion
Andy Murray (GBR)
Current world ranking: 2
Titles won this season to date: Rome, Queen’s, Wimbledon, Olympic gold medal
US Open history
Best result: Won (2012)
Last year’s result: Fourth round
Grand Slam results this year to date
Australian Open: Runner-up
French Open: Runner-up
Wimbledon: Won
Rio Olympics result: gold medal
Only one man appears the most capable of challenging world number one Novak Djokovic for the title in New York and it’s the man who defeated him to win his first major title in 2012, Andy Murray.
The Scot is in the midst of producing his most consistent season, which has seen him remain ranked second in the world behind Djokovic and string together a 22-match winning streak, which was broken in Cincinnati last week when he lost to Marin Cilic in the final.
That streak landed him titles at Queen’s and Wimbledon, as well as a second Olympic gold medal in singles, all under the coaching of Ivan Lendl, whom Murray reunited with shortly after the French Open.
His other title for the season came on the clay courts of Rome, while he also reached the finals at both the Australian and French Opens, losing on both occasions to Novak Djokovic.
While he appears the major contender to the Serb at Flushing Meadows, it’s a disturbing fact that the 29-year-old’s results in New York have worsened since winning the title in 2012.
In 2013 and 2014 he lost in the quarter-finals to Stan Wawrinka and Djokovic respectively while last year he failed to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time since 2010 when he was upset by Kevin Anderson in the fourth round.
But while Murray remains well behind Djokovic in the rankings, another US Open title could see him start to eat into the Serb’s lead at the top. That being said, I expect him to make the final.
Prediction: Final
Stan Wawrinka (SUI)
Current world ranking: 3
Titles won this season to date: Chennai, Dubai, Geneva
US Open history
Best result: Semi-finals (2013, 2015)
Last year’s result: Semi-finals
Grand Slam results this year to date
Australian Open: Fourth round
French Open: Semi-finals
Wimbledon: Second round
Rio Olympics result: Did not play
One player who hasn’t quite played to the standards he set over the last two years is world number three Stan Wawrinka.
The 31-year-old fell in the fourth and second rounds of the Australian Open and Wimbledon respectively, on either side of reaching the semi-finals at the French Open where he was defeated by Andy Murray.
He was also forced to miss the Rio Olympics due to injury and his most recent outing in Cincinnati saw him suffer an upset straight-sets loss to ringe top ten player Grigor Dimitrov.
Despite his rather disappointing results at the major tournaments this year, Wawrinka has still been able to win three titles, including a third straight in Chennai as well as those in Dubai and Geneva in his home country.
He will arrive in New York having reinherited the world number three ranking from Roger Federer, whose knee injury means he will be absent from the main draw of the US Open for the first time since 1999.
Given his ranking, he will be expected to do well at Flushing Meadows, and has done so in the past, reaching the semi-finals in two of his last three appearances and ending the title defence of Andy Murray in the former year.
It now remains to be seen how the Swiss number one will fare, though I expect him to make another deep run and reach the semi-finals.
Prediction: Semi-finals
Rafael Nadal
Current world ranking: 5
Titles won this season to date: Monte Carlo, Barcelona
US Open history
Best result: Won twice (2010 and 2013)
Last year’s result: Third round
Grand Slam results this year to date
Australian Open: First round
French Open: Third round
Wimbledon: Did not play
Rio Olympics result: Fourth place, lost Bronze Medal playoff
If there’s someone who will be desperate to salvage something from a disappointing season blighted by injury so far, it’s two-time US Open champion Rafael Nadal.
The Spaniard has won just two titles so far this year and was only able to reach the third round of the French Open, before withdrawing due to a wrist injury which subsequently forced his withdrawal from Wimbledon.
He also fell in the first round of the Australian Open but was able to reach the medal stages at the Rio Olympics, losing to Kei Nishikori in the Bronze Medal match after being defeated by Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-finals.
As far as titles are concerned, he was able to win a 28th Masters title by saluting at the Monte Carlo Masters for a record ninth time, while he also won in Barcelona to take his clay court title tally to 49 and his overall title tally to 69.
The 30-year-old will be hoping for a reversal of fortunes after a knee injury prevented him from participating in 2012 and 2014 on either side of winning in 2013, while last year he was defeated by Fabio Fognini in the third round despite leading by two sets to one.
That loss ended a ten-year streak of the Spaniard winning at least one Grand Slam title in a calendar year, and he now faces the prospect of completing a second consecutive year without winning a major title, let alone reaching a final.
Whether he can break his two-year Grand Slam title drought, which dates back to his most recent victory at the 2014 French Open, in New York will remain to be seen.
Prediction: Semi-finals
Other notable contenders
* Kei Nishikori (JPN)
* Milos Raonic (CAN)
* Marin Cilic (CRO)
* Dominic Thiem (AUT)
* Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA)
* Gael Monfils (FRA)
* Juan Martin del Potro (ARG)
Notable absentees
* Roger Federer (SUI), knee injury
* Tomas Berdych (CZE), appendicitis
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