As a majority of the world’s best tennis players gather in Flushing Meadows once again, there are some friendly faces we’ll be missing. Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, two of the Big Three, will not be participating, among others.
Some fans have tried to argue that this year’s U.S. Open champion should be met with a lot of skepticism because of those absences, but here are some of the reasons nobody can truly call this a weak playing field.
Novak Djokovic
Djokovic is the world No. 1, a 17-time Grand Slam champion and a member of the vaunted Big Three, along with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. More important, he has fundamentally changed the way that professional tennis is played. Outside of a fanatical devotion to fitness, Djokovic introduced a defensive style of movement that is copied widely by the younger generation of players who actively seek to usurp him. The new stars of tennis are built in his image: lean, with the minimum amount of muscle necessary and an emphasis on extreme flexibility. The big question, then, stands: Can Djokovic hold them off while he hunts down Federer’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles, or Nadal’s 19?
Dominic Thiem
Thiem, the world No. 3, has on three occasions faced off against a member of the Big Three in a final at his opponent’s favorite Grand Slam. In 2018 and 2019, Thiem tried to dethrone Nadal on the red clay of Roland Garros, and at this year’s Australian Open, he pushed Djokovic to five sets before ultimately losing to him. After a disappointing loss to Thomas Fabbiano in the first round of last year’s U.S. Open, Thiem will be trying not just to make a run into the later stages of the tournament but to clinch his first Grand Slam title and to become just the 11th player since Federer won his first Wimbledon in 2003 to claim a Grand Slam men’s title.
Daniil Medvedev
On the hardcourts of North America, it would be hard to argue that anyone had a better summer last year than Medvedev. The world No. 5, Medvedev reached the finals at Washington and Montreal and then won his first Master’s 1000 title in Cincinnati. With only a week’s rest before the U.S. Open, many wondered if the lanky Russian would have the energy necessary to manage the best-of-five-set format. Not only did he manage it, he found time to play the part of the villain: He openly mocked hostile New York crowds on his way to an appearance in the final and then pushed Nadal to five sets before losing in one of the most entertaining U.S. Open finals of the decade. Medvedev’s grueling summer ended with 20 wins in 23 matches. With the shortened schedule, could Medvedev improve on that and prove that he was not a one-season wonder?
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas, the fourth seed at this year’s U.S. Open, has never been past the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament and crashed out in the first rounds of last year’s Wimbledon and U.S. Open. After he clinched the victory at the ATP Tour Finals at the end of 2019, it would be understandable to feel a sense of whiplash about Tsitsipas’s prospects, but the 22-year-old still has plenty of time to improve on his consistency and the mental side of his game. If he does, it seems inevitable that Tsitsipas will contend for Grand Slam titles soon.
Alexander Zverev
Zverev, the world No. 7, comes from a tennis family. His father, Alexander Zverev Sr., was a professional tennis player, and his older brother, Mischa, also plays on the ATP Tour. Alexander, however, has been the star of the family, winning the ATP Tour Finals in 2018 and, at 23, continuing to challenge for titles. Still, there is much to learn. While Mischa is the tour’s biggest proponent of serve-and-volley tennis, Alexander’s serving is often seen as one of the weakest points in his game.
Matteo Berrettini
Berrettini was the 24th seed at the U.S. Open last year. He catapulted himself to the semifinals, where he lost to the eventual champion, Rafael Nadal. Now, seeded sixth, Berrettini is no longer a true underdog. Although he performed poorly at the Australian Open this year, his powerful groundstrokes should help him make another strong run at this year’s U.S. Open.
David Goffin
Goffin, the world No. 10, is a clay court specialist but has reached the round of 16 at the U.S. Open the last three years and was a finalist at the Western & Southern Open in 2019. While few would him to challenge for a Grand Slam title, he’s a joy to watch, especially on days when his two-handed backhand is in full swing.
Roberto Bautista Agut
In Spain, it is customary for players to develop impressive defensive skills from years of playing on baked red clay. Bautista Agut, the world No. 12, took that education and adapted it to hardcourts, becoming one of the rare Spaniards who isn’t just a “dirt rat” — a player whose yearly rankings are almost solely reliant on performances on the red clay of Southern Europe and Latin America. While Bautista Agut’s game is not particularly varied, his tenacity makes him a hard opponent to push past.
Diego Schwartzman
Schwartzman is one of the most entertaining players on the ATP Tour. On and off the court, he possesses a charm that makes you want him to do well. At 5 feet 7 inches, Schwartzman became the shortest player since 1994 to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal when he did so at the U.S. Open in 2017, the French Open in 2018 and the U.S. Open again in 2019.
Andrey Rublev
Last year’s U.S. Open was Rublev’s return to the spotlight. Rublev reached the quarterfinals in Queens in 2017 and then missed most of 2018 with a back injury. Upon returning, he did not play particularly well: At last year’s U.S. Open, as an unseeded player, he beat Tsitsipas in the first round before making his way to the round of 16, losing to Berrettini. Rublev had a better start to this year, winning the Qatar Open and the Adelaide Open in preparation for the Australian Open, where he lost to Zverev in the round of 16.
Notable absences:
Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Gael Monfils, Fabio Fognini, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Nick Kyrgios, and Jo-Wilfred Tsonga.
A few more to watch:
Andy Murray, a three time Grand Slam tournament champion, is returning to major competition after his second hip surgery and a subsequent hip injury. He looked like a promising competitor during the Western & Southern Open this past week.
Grigor Dimitrov, a quarterfinalist at last year’s U.S. Open, was once referred to as “Baby Fed” for the similarities in his game to that of Roger Federer. Although he has yet to win a Grand Slam, he is a fierce competitor and a joy to watch.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, a 20-year-old Canadian, has lost to his fellow countryman, Denis Shapovalov, the world No. 17, in the first round of the U.S. Open in the last two years. Now, without Shapovalov in his way, he is set for his first deep run.
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