The US Open in Flushing Meadows near New York, the last Grand Slam tournament of the season, begins on Monday.
Who are the favorites?
In the men's singles, the top three in the world rankings have so far shared the major titles between them. Jannik Sinner triumphed in Australia. Carlos Alcaraz won in Paris and Wimbledon. Novak Djokovic won gold at the Olympics. But Alcaraz showed the "weakest match of my life" in Cincinnati last week, according to an exaggerated self-assessment, Djokovic has been on a break and has been solid since the Olympic Games, and in Sinner's case it remains to be seen how the positive doping tests at Indian Wells that have become public will affect his performance. Outsiders can have high hopes at the US Open.
What was the result of the draw?
The draw put Sinner (ATP 1), Alcaraz (ATP 3) and Daniil Medvedev (ATP 5) all in the top half of the tableau, which is therefore much stronger than the bottom half with Djokovic (ATP 2) and Alexander Zverev (ATP 4).
And the women?
The betting agencies favor Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus ahead of world number one Iga Swiatek from Poland. Sabalenka won the tournament in Cincinnati last week with a victory in the final over Jessica Pegula, who had previously won the tournament in Toronto.
The Swiss?
Only Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Stricker and Viktorija Golubic are in the main draw. Wawrinka (ATP 179), who can play thanks to a wild card, will face the Italian Mattia Bellucci (ATP 102). Stricker - who is in the tournament thanks to his protected ranking - will play the Argentinian Fracisco Comasana (ATP 108) in the starting round. Viktorija Golubic, the only Swiss player to have qualified for the tournament on her own, has been drawn the most difficult starting task. Golubic will face Spain's Paula Badosa, who was ranked No. 2 in the world two years ago.
SDA
