Daniil Medvedev waves to fans after defeating Taylor Fritz in a...

Daniil Medvedev waves to fans after defeating Taylor Fritz in a quarterfinal match at the Western & Southern Open on Aug. 19 in Mason, Ohio. Credit: AP/Jeff Dean

DANIIL MEDVEDEV

Daniil Medvedev, the defending champion, has both infuriated and enamored U.S. Open fans. But no matter what side you are on, there’s no denying the Russian’s immense talent, his quick, mostly unreadable serve, his baseline groundstroke game and his indefatigable defense. He’s the No. 1 player in the world but has been a bit inconsistent and has only one tournament victory this season, though he did lose to Rafael Nadal in the AustralianOpen  final.  This will be his first Grand Slam since the French Open because the All England Lawn Tennis Club made the political decision not to allow Russian and Belarusian players to play Wimbledon over the war in Ukraine.

RAFAEL NADAL

Rafael Nadal arrives for "The Tennis Plays for Peace" exhibition...

Rafael Nadal arrives for "The Tennis Plays for Peace" exhibition match to raise awareness and humanitarian aid for Ukraine on Wednesday. Credit: AP/Frank Franklin II

Rafa Nadal, 36, just keeps slogging along. Despite a rib injury and his longstanding foot problem and an abdominal injury sustained at Wimbledon, he still has managed to win the Australian and French Opens this year and run his Grand Slam total to a record 22, 14 of those titles on the red clay at Roland Garros. His activity has been been limited by the abdominal injury.  Nadal does have four U.S. Open titles, the last of those in 2019. He has not played the last two years first because of pandemic concerns, then because of a foot injury  He was recently knocked out of the Western & Southern Open by the resurgent Bora Coric, the only match he has played since Wimbledon.  But assuming a reasonable amount of health, he can’t be discounted at Flushing Meadows.

CARLOS ALCARAZ

Carlos Alcaraz reacts to winning a point against Cameron Norrie during...

Carlos Alcaraz reacts to winning a point against Cameron Norrie during the Western & Southern Open on Aug. 19 in Mason, Ohio. Credit: AP/Aaron Doster

The Spanih teen introduced himself to the world at the U.S. Open last year, beating Stefano Tsitsipas on the way to reaching the quarterfinals, where he retired with a leg injury in the second set of his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime. But the Open crowd clearly loved him, and he has backed up his promise of greatness with four titles this season, including a career-defining win over idol Nadal at Madrid. It hasn’t exactly been a great summer for Alcaraz, but assuming he’ll be embraced by the Open fans, there’s no reason to think he can’t exceed his successes from last year at Flushing Meadows.

TAYLOR FRITZ

Taylor Fritz reacts as he wins a point against Rafael...

Taylor Fritz reacts as he wins a point against Rafael Nadal in a men's singles quarterfinal during the Wimbledon tennis championships in London on July 6. Credit: AP/Kirsty Wigglesworth

No American has won the U.S. Open singles title since Andy Roddick in 2003, which was his single Grand Slam crown. So maybe if the stars align, Taylor Fritz might have a shot. He beat Nadal in the final of Indian Wells this year for the biggest title of his career. Fritz lost to Nadal in a grueling five-setter in the Wimbledon quarters and lost another tough five-setter to Tsitsipas in the Australian round of 16. At the recent Western & Southern  Open he took out Andrey Rublev and Kyrgios before losing to Medvedev. It’s about time for another American to show up in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

BORNA CORIC

Borna Coric reacts after winning a point against Stefanos Tsitsipas during the...

Borna Coric reacts after winning a point against Stefanos Tsitsipas during the men's singles final of the Western & Southern Open on Aug. 21 in Mason, Ohio. Credit: AP/Aaron Doster

Completely out of leftfield, the 25-year-old Croatian won the Western & Southern Open last week, beating Tsitsipas in the final and Nadal in the second round.  At the 2020 Open, Coric produced a stunning comeback over Tsitsipas, roaring back from two sets and 1-5 down in the fourth set to win it in the fifth. He missed a full year after right shoulder surgery in March of 2021 (at the Hospital for Special Surgery’s Sports Medicine Institute in New York) and has been plodding away this season until his impressive performance at the Western. If he plays like that at the Open, he could be a threat.

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