Even before his appearance at the US Open 2023, the Serbian tennis pro Novak Djokovic made it clear that the tournament title will only go through him this year. After completing two rounds, the 23-time Grand Slam winner is in impressive form and tennis fans are rightly asking the question: Who can even stop Novak Djokovic?
The immediate answer would probably be “Carlos Alcaraz“ring. He recently won the tournament in Wimbledon and recently brought Djokovic to the brink of defeat in Cincinnati. The problem: the Serb would only meet the young Spaniard in the final, but until then Alcaraz – who ended up in the more difficult half of the draw – would probably still have had duels Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev or Andrei Rublev in front of you where getting ahead is not a sure thing.
Djokovic caught an easier branch – now duel against compatriot
Djokovic however, caught the lighter branch, so are in this with Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas as well as Holger Rune three players who are among the top ten players in the world rankings have already been eliminated. The 36-year-old Serb, on the other hand, has been in excellent shape so far, both against opponents in the opening round Alexandre Müller from France as well as second round opponent Bernabe Zapata Miralles from Spain he easily prevailed in three sentences.
Now Djokovic’s compatriot is waiting in the third round Laszlo Djere, against whom “Djoker” struggled in the only meeting in 2022 in Belgrade. Like the second in the world rankings, Djere, currently 38th in the tennis world rankings, has not yet had to give up a set in this competition and showed himself in a promising form that should not be underestimated.
Vesely with a positive balance – Fritz possible opponent in the quarter-finals
If the three-time US Open winner takes this hurdle, there would then be a clash with the winner of the duel between the qualifiers Born Joy (Croatia) and Jiri Vesely (Czech Republic) The latter is one of the few players on the tour who has not yet lost to Djokovic – the Czech has won both previous duels, the last one dates back to 2022, when Vesely won 6: 4 and 7: 6 in Dubai was able to prevail against the current second in the world rankings.
It is questionable whether Vesely could be a stumbling block this year, most recently the 30-year-old was only active in Challenger tournaments. His first two games against Couacaud (France) and Cerundolo (Argentina), the Czech won in five sets.
Djokovic could definitely face a tough test in a possible quarter-finals for the Americans Taylor Fritz who may not have had a good year but definitely wants to prove himself in front of his home crowd. Does Fritz master his tasks Mensik and Stricker/Bonzi, the 25-year-old would meet the Serbs in the quarter-finals. The previous seven duels between the two were all won by Djokovic – most recently in Cincinnati – but in Flushing Meadows the home advantage could reshuffle the cards.
Semi-final duel against Tiafoe or Paul possible
In any case, it will be really tight for Djokovic in the semifinals, where according to the seeding list he either Frances Tiafoe or Tommy Paul (both USA) would meet. Home field advantage is also a factor here, and Tiafoe in particular has proven on many occasions in the past that he can take advantage of an audience. The tenth in the world rankings has played the tournament without losing a set so far and has played with the Frenchman in the third round Adrian Mannarino but a task ahead that should not be underestimated.
With Tommy Paul, Djokovic would expect a player who could play against the Russian Roman Safiullin was almost eliminated, but is probably one of the strongest players on the tour on hard court. He made it to the semi-finals in Toronto this year, where he eliminated Carlos Alcaraz, among others. The 26-year-old now meets the previously also strong player Alexander Davidovich Fokina (Spain) and then either on the talented Ben Shelton or Aslan Karatsev from Russia.
Alcaraz, Medvedev & Co. as possible opponents in the final
As already mentioned, Carlos Alcaraz, with whom Djokovic delivered a spectacular final in Cincinnati, could then wait in the final. However, a meeting with Daniil Medvedev, against whom the Serb has already had five defeats, and a duel with the Italians Jannik Sinner or Andrei Rublev would also be possible. And world number one Carlos Alcaraz recently proved in Wimbledon that Djokovic can also be beaten in a Grand Slam final.
2023-09-01 15:36:00
#players #stop #Novak #Djokovic #winning #title
