NEW YORK | There it is, the US Open, the last major tournament of the season, the most electrifying with its huge stadium and its evening matches that can keep spectators spellbound until the early hours.
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While waiting for the first balls to be hit there, around 11 a.m. on Monday, The newspaper has prepared a list of facts to know about the top 10 favorites for men and women as well as the four Canadians who will try to fight their way through the New York frenzy.
MEN
1. Carlos Alcaraz (20 years old – ESP): The prodigy, reigning champion in New York, has never lost a “regular” match at the US Open. In two participations, his only defeat was by forfeit at the hands of Félix Auger-Aliassime, in the quarter-finals, in 2021.
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2. Novak Djokovic (36 ans – SRB): If he won in two weeks, “Djoko” would win his 24th major trophy, which would make him the most successful athlete in singles at the Grand Slam, tied with Margaret Court Smith.
3. Daniil Medvedev (27 years – RUS): If everyone anticipates a final between Djokovic and Alcaraz (or in dream, even), Medvedev is perhaps the hidden card of this tournament. But not so hidden. After all, the Russian won the tournament two years ago, and he is often considered the best hard-court player in the world.
4. Holger Rune (20 ans – DAN): Two years ago, Rune, then 145th on the ATP, qualified for the US Open before falling to Djokovic in the first round, not without taking a sleeve off him. This time, he comes in as fourth in the world, his best career ranking.
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5. Casper Ruud (24 ans – NOR): Ruud has a lot to lose in this tournament. Although his favorite surface remains clay, he reached the final at Flushing Meadows last year, before losing to Alcaraz.
6. Jannik Sinner (22 ans – ITA): Semi-finalist at Wimbledon, champion in Toronto: everything seemed to be going well for the other prodigy of the top 10 for a few weeks, until this early defeat in Cincinnati. However, he remains one of the players who could go very far in the table.
7. Stefanos Tsitsipas (25 years – GRE): Champion on hard court in Los Cabos, the friend of Paula Badosa could not carry his successes on the surface during the rest of the North American season, he who lost in his first match in Toronto and his second in Cincinnati . In New York, he will face in the first round a player who has nothing to lose in Milos Raonic.
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8. Andrey Rublev (25 ans – RUS): The enigmatic Russian didn’t do any good in Toronto and Cincinnati, each time being eliminated in his first game. And in New York, he will immediately find the one who showed him the way out at his last tournament: the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, 56th in the world.
9. Taylor Fritz (25 years old – É.-U.): The American arrived in front of his fans in New York full of hope last year, but he lost the flag in the first round to his compatriot Brandon Holt, then 303rd in the world. The good news, for the one who has been one of Félix’s training partners in the last few days, is that he could hardly do worse this time.
10. Frances Tiafoe (25 years – US): The flamboyant American shone in the spotlight in New York last year, where he reached the semi-finals by beating Rafael Nadal. Then 26th in the world, he has only taken the lead in the standings since.
WOMEN
1. Iga Swiatek (22 years – POL): Almost intractable since last year, the defending champion comes to New York with only nine losses this season, in 62 games. But both in Montreal and Cincinnati, she was held back each time in the semi-finals by an American (Jessica Pegula, then Coco Gauff).
2. Aryna Sabalenka (25 years – BLR): She has the fearless game to dominate in New York, but Sabalenka is also capable of starting to scatter during matches. However, she now knows how to win a Grand Slam, having done so in Australia at the start of the year.
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3. Jessica Pegula (29 years old – É.-U.): The champion in Montreal with the excellent repartee began to impose herself late, but for two years, she has multiplied the quarter-finals in Grand Slams, she who currently occupies the best ranking of her career. The next step? End up breaking through the quad in a major tournament.
4. Elena Rybakina (24 ans – KAZ): The naturalized Kazakh Russian reached the semi-final in Montreal, before having to withdraw during her second match in Cincinnati. Rybakina is playing very well on hard courts this year: in the spring, she won the title in Indian Wells and lost in the final in Miami.
5. Ons Jabeur (29 years old – TUN): The “Minister of Happiness”, as she is nicknamed in her country, reached the final in New York last year, where she was beaten by Swiatek. Since her setback that left her in tears at Wimbledon, the Tunisian has been injured. She therefore played little on hard courts, but she reached the quarters in Cincinnati, falling to Sabalenka.
6. Coco Gauff (19 years old – É.-U.): The tour on the hard North American, it was his. Champion in Washington and Cincinnati, quarter-finalist in Montreal, the one who has already caused a sensation for several years on the circuit despite her young age will be the player to beat in New York.
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7. Caroline Garcia (29 years old – FRA): The powerful Frenchwoman was sensational last year at the US Open, where she reached the semi-final. A performance, combined with his title at the end of the year tournament, which had allowed him to climb very high in the top 10. But for a few months, “Caro” has been struggling.
8. Maria Sakkari (28 years – GRE): Arguably the most athletic player on the circuit, with her muscles cut with a knife, the Greek has torn from her last two Grand Slam outings, losing each time in the first round.
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9. Marketa Vondrousova (24 years old – TCH): The surprise champion of the last Wimbledon must now acclimatize to her new status as a top 10 player. She has done well so far, especially in Cincinnati, where she reached the quarter-finals.
10. Karolina Muchova (27 years – TCH): Here is another Czech who has good feelings in the major tournaments this year, she who reached the final at Roland-Garros, while clay is not her favorite surface. She was also a finalist in Cincinnati two weeks ago.
CANADIENS
1. Félix Auger-Aliassime (23 years old): It was at the US Open that the Quebecer had his best Grand Slam performance, he who reached the semi-finals two years ago. The opportunity is therefore a good one to put his disappointing season back on the right track. And for the anecdote: when Félix made the four aces in New York, he was the 15th favorite of the tournament… like this year.
2. Leylah Fernandez (21 years old): Eternal dissatisfied, Leylah refuses to affirm that she knows good moments lately. The 2021 New York runner-up is 7-4 on the North American hard court and her ranking has moved up to 67th from a close to 100th place not too long ago.
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3. Rebecca Marino (32 ans): The experienced Marino hasn’t won a match in the big draw at a WTA tournament since June 22, a four-game losing streak that helped drop her outside the top 100 (she’s 104th this week ). She has points to defend in New York, having reached the third round there last year.
4. Milos Raonic (32 ans): The powerful server has not inherited an easy table for his fourth tournament since his return to competition, he who will play against the seventh seed, the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, Monday around 7 p.m. But that doesn’t seem to bother him: well aware that he has fallen far in the standings after almost two years of absence (he is 337th), he knew that he would quickly be measured against a seed.
2023-08-28 04:00:00
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