US Open: Three players with form at Flushing Meadows

The US Open is rapidly approaching, with the final Grand Slam of the season due to get underway at Flushing Meadows on August 28 before concluding on September 10. It will come as no surprise that Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are more or less the joint-favourites in the US Open tennis betting odds, but the American major has been one of the toughest to call with five different winners in as many renewals.

Djokovic last won the US Open in 2018, with Rafael Nadal regaining the title the following year before Dominic Thiem, Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz all broke their Grand Slam ducks at Arthur Ashe Stadium in each of the last three editions. Good form on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows could be worth looking out for when searching the betting markets for this year’s winner, so let’s take a look at three players with a good record in New York.

Daniil Medvedev

While he could fare no better than the fourth round at Flushing Meadows last year, ultimately being knocked out by Nick Kyrgios as the Australian enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career last term, Medvedev has formerly been a tough nut to crack on the hard courts stateside.

He went deep into the competition for three years in succession between 2019 and 2021, losing the 2019 final to Rafael Nadal before being knocked out in the semi-finals in 2020. He won the 2022 US Open and has four hard-court titles to his name this year. That could set him in good stead going into this year’s tournament and his 82% win rate in the US Open is not to be sniffed at.

Alexander Zverev

While Zverev is very adept on the clay, with several titles on the dirt surface and runs to the semi-finals at the last three French Opens, 13 of his career victories have come on hard courts — including two ATP Finals triumphs in 2018 and 2021 and Olympic Gold in Tokyo two years ago.

The German reached his only Grand Slam final to date at Flushing Meadows in 2020, ultimately blowing a two-set lead to Dominic Thiem and was beaten in a five-set semi-final thriller by Djokovic the following year. Ankle surgery resulted in him missing last year’s US Open, but he’s back in form with a win in the Hamburg Open (albeit on clay) recently and has a 72% win rate in New York.

Alcaraz celebrating his recent Wimbledon win

Carlos Alcaraz

On current form, defending champion Alcaraz is going to take all the beating at Flushing Meadows. The young Spaniard has been on an incredible run for the last year two years, winning 11 career titles in that short space of time — including two Grand Slams — and he’s showing no signs of letting up any time soon.

The 20-year-old has featured at the US Open just twice, reaching the quarter-finals on his maiden appearance in 2021 when he was forced to retire due to an injury against Felix Auger-Aliassime before winning the US-based Slam last year.

There was no Djokovic, who has reached nine US Open finals and won three, in New York 12 months ago and the Serbian’s return this year makes things interesting as the pair could set up back-to-back Grand Slam finals. They’ve never met on a hard court, but Alcaraz could have the edge after his Wimbledon triumph.