The draw for the US Open was not kind to the defending champions by placing the most formidable opponent possible on their way to the final: in the semis, Carlos Alcaraz should face Daniil Medvedev and Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina .
In July at Wimbledon, Alcaraz easily defeated Medvedev (3rd in the world) in the semis, before beating Novak Djokovic (2nd) in the final after an epic match.
But, unlike English grass, American hard is the surface of choice for the Russian who won his first Grand Slam tournament there in 2021, a year before Alcaraz did the same and became the youngest N.1 world of history.
For his part, Djokovic, who has not won the title in New York since 2018, could theoretically find the Dane Holger Rune (4th) in the semi-finals. Unless it is the Norwegian Casper Ruud (5th), finalist last year.
In the women’s draw, Swiatek, world N.1 and winner this year at Roland-Garros, is promised a particularly complicated end to her career since she could theoretically chain matches against the current in-form player, the American Coco Gauff. (6th) in the quarters, then against the Kazakh Elena Rybakina (4th) before eventually finding the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (2nd) in the final, whom she had beaten in three sets last year in the semi-finals.
The latter, at the bottom of the table, has an easier course, on paper, with however a theoretical quarter against the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (5th), finalist last year, and a half still theoretical against the American Jessica Pegula (3rd) or the French semi-finalist last year Caroline Garcia (7th).