With the US Open kicking off on Monday, there are some obvious favourites for the title. Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek go in as the top seeds and defending champions while Novak Djokovic is returning to Flushing Meadows for the first time in two years. But Johanna Konta told Express Sport that things won’t be as clear-cut this year, naming Coco Gauff and Stefanos Tsitsipas among six others who could also lift the trophy in two weeks’ time.
On the men’s side, the focus has been almost entirely on Alcaraz and Djokovic as the pair have faced off in the finals of the last two tournaments they have played. They are also the only Grand Slam champions this year, though Konta isn’t entirely throwing her weight behind the idea of a two-horse race for the title.
“No, I think there’s a handful of men that could I think find themselves in the final there,” the former world No 4 exclusively told Express Sport. Naming three men she expected to challenge for the title, Konta continued: “Obviously Medvedev, a former champion there as well, I think he’s in the mix.
“And I definitely think Tsitsipas coming off his win in Los Cabos I think he’s gaining some momentum as well and obviously Zverev is playing better and better so I do think there is still a good group of guys that are going to be in the mix there.”
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A former quarter-finalist in Flushing Meadows, Konta still backed Alcaraz and Djokovic to potentially face off in the final once again. “But it wouldn’t also be surprising if it was a Novak and Carlos final again and wouldn’t that be great actually just to see some continuity from that battle that they had,” she added. “But I think there’s a good group of men that we’ll see.”
As for the women’s side, world No 1 Swiatek has become a title favourite wherever she goes though Konta thought four other players were right up there with the defending champion. “I think Iga is obviously a frontrunner however I wouldn’t say that she is the only option out there,” she explained.
“I think that Aryna Sabalenka, being the Australian Open champion, coming back onto the hard. I think that she will be a formidable force there. I wouldn’t be surprised if she would win the title.”
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US Open tennis makes its long-awaited return to Sky Sports and it’s certainly not something to be missed.
Sky Sports subscribers on Sky Glass, Sky Stream, Sky Q, and the Sky Sports app will be able to watch all courts for the first time on Sky Sports.
Want to watch the US Open Tennis but don’t own Sky?
Never fear as you can get Sky Glass, Sky TV, Netflix for £14 a month for six months – thanks to a limited time deal.
You can also get six months Sky Sports completely free.
Naming another one of this year’s Grand Slam champions, the 32-year-old added: “ And then obviously you’ve got players like Marketa [Vondrousova] coming off a Wimbledon win which I think, for her, was unexpected just because of the surface. She would call herself much better on the clay being French Open finalist but also even on the hard. So you never know how she will also come off the back of that win at Wimbledon.”
With Coco Gauff winning Cincinnati and Jessica Pegula lifting the title in Montreal, a home champion was also on the cards in Konta’s eyes. “And then who knows, maybe a Coco Gauff, maybe it will be a Jessica Pegula,” she said.
“The Americans always seem to – even if it’s more on the men’s side – but in general the Americans like to play at home and they play well at home. So you’ve got a really good base of American players as well. So I think like the men’s side, I think there’s a group. I don’t think there’s a clear-cut ‘Definitely this person, done.’ And we’ve got good proof of why, just from all the tournaments in the season so far.”
The US Open has often been the site of many first-time Major winners like Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev, and has bred some unexpected champions like Emma Raducanu. But Konta couldn’t see the same happening this year. “I mean arguably the US Open winners over the last few years have been sometimes like, ‘Oh wow, what just happened’ kind of thing. According to that yes, maybe it will be an unpredictable winner,” the former British No 1 said.
“But I don’t know, this year I don’t get that feeling that it will be something really left-field just because I think we’ve just had a bit more consistency in the level of the top players this year. I think post-Covid era in that kind of 2020, 2021, 2022 a bit, there was a lot of I think reshuffling.
“I think with the tour being suspended and quite a few people retiring, there was quite a bit of a mix-up and everyone was just trying to find their feet again, almost trying to re-establish the hierarchy on the tour. And I think it’s been more consistent this year, we’ve seen more players, we’ve seen that kind of two-handful of players who we’ve seen more throughout this season so I don’t think it will be a surprise this year.”
The US Open returns exclusively to Sky Sports and NOW with feeds to all courts from 28th August.
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