Alcaraz-Djokovic rivalry as Gauff bids to defend – the players to watch at US Open

The US Open, the final grand slam of the year, begins in New York on Monday.

Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will bid to defend the titles they won last year, but a host of rivals will be out to dethrone them.

Here are the 10 players to watch at Flushing Meadows.

Novak Djokovic will be going for a record 25th grand slam and his first since winning the 2023 title. The Serb’s drought in 2024 was ended with an impressive win at the Olympics and he will hope that can inspire him to a fifth title in New York.

Coco Gauff landed an emotional first grand slam title in New York last year, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999. She will be hoping that the comparisons to Williams do not end there as she looks to dominate her home grand slam, where she will have a famously raucous crowd on her side.

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The Spaniard has won the last two grand slams, triumphing at the French Open and Wimbledon, and he will be eyeing another title in New York, having first won in 2022. Alcaraz will be smarting from his Olympics final defeat to Djokovic and another instalment of their fantastic rivalry may be on the cards at Flushing Meadows.

Swiatek was the 2022 champion in New York but is still working out how to dominate on the hard courts in the same way she does on the clay, where she has won four of the last five French Opens. She still remains one of the biggest threats and will want to assert her dominance again after a surprise defeat in the Olympics semi-final at her Roland Garros stronghold.

Osaka has history in New York, having won two titles in 2018 and 2020, but she is still finding her way back after a long maternity break. She has recently spoken out about the challenges she has faced and her failure to make it past the second round in the first three grand slams of the year does not bode too well. She has a wild card into the main draw and Flushing Meadows is where she has played her best tennis so she will be hoping this is where everything clicks.

The Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry has captured the imagination of the men’s game, but it is Sinner who comes into the tournament as the world number one. However, he is currently shrouded in controversy. The Italian has been cleared of any wrongdoing after failing two drugs tests earlier this year, with an investigation accepting Sinner’s explanation that the substance had accidentally entered his system via a product one of his team had used to treat a small wound. Other players on the Tour have questioned the decision, so Sinner could lack goodwill as he hopes to advance past the fourth round for the first time, having won in Cincinnati last week.

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Sabalenka won the first major of the year on the Australian hard courts so it is a surface she enjoys, with her big serve and power from the baseline. She was the runner-up at Flushing Meadows last year so will be hoping to go one better and with the Cincinatti Open title under her belt last week, the Belarussian looks well placed.

The diminutive Italian has had a breakout year and rocketed to the top of the women’s game. Having never made it past the second round of a grand slam before this year, she followed up a fourth-round appearance in Australia with back-to-back finals at the French Open and Wimbledon. Her gold medal in the Olympic doubles further made it a year to remember and she will hope to round it off in style.

The Russian’s only grand slam success came at Flushing Meadows in 2021 and it is a place he enjoys playing as he made it to the final last year. Results have not been great since reaching the Australian Open final in January, where he lost to Sinner from two sets up, but his resilience and wall-like defence is an asset on the hard courts.

The Austrian is not a real contender for the title, but this marks a farewell grand slam appearance ahead of his impending retirement. It is strange to think that the 2020 champion’s only grand slam title came in New York, when his game was so strong on clay. Wrist injuries have taken their toll and the 30-year-old will call time on his career in October.