Tennis: US Open men's draw preview

bet365 News Team Published: 26 Aug 22 17:48

There will be no Novak Djokovic taking part at the US Open this year but the men's draw is still brimming with quality as world number one Daniil Medvedev bids to defend his crown.

However, it is interesting to note that no player has followed up in the US Open men's singles since Roger Federer in 2008, so Medvedev, who is 11/5 to repeat last year's victory, will have to be operating at the peak of his powers.

Rafael Nadal won the opening two Grand Slam titles in Australia and France and is 7/2 to make it 23 Major successes in New York, while his younger compatriot and one of the game's rising stars, Carlos Alcaraz, is an 11/2 chance.

Resurgent Australian Nick Kyrgios, who finished runner-up to Djokovic at Wimbledon in July, is an 8/1 shot to go one better at Flushing Meadows, while Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is 12/1 for his maiden Grand Slam title.

What:	US Open 2022
Where:	USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Flushing Meadows, New York
When:	Monday 29th August-Sunday 11th September 2022
How to watch:	Eurosport, Amazon Prime and bet365's Sports Live Streaming
Odds:	Daniil Medvedev 11/5, Rafael Nadal 7/2, Carlos Alcaraz 11/2, Nick Kyrgios 8/1, Stefanos Tsitsipas 12/1, Jannik Sinner 16/1, Taylor Fritz 20/1, Matteo Berrettini 22/1

Medvedev and Kyrgios on course to clash early

Russian world number one Medvedev looks the one they all have to beat in the fourth and final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open.

The 26-year-old is arguably the greatest hard-court player in the field and, having finished runner-up to Nadal at the Australian Open earlier this year, will be looking to go one better.

Medvedev opens up against American Stefan Kozlov and should breeze through the early stages, but a potential fourth-round showdown with Kyrgios makes his task that bit harder.

Interestingly, Kyrgios has won three of their four previous meetings, including earlier this month in Montreal when the Australian came out on top 6-7 6-4 6-2.

Medvedev did have Kyrgios's measure in four sets at the Melbourne major in January but the Australian appears to have found some focus and consistency recently, making their potential rematch mouthwatering.

Other star names in that quarter hoping to have a say are classy Canadian youngster Felix Auger-Aliassime, who is 28/1 for Grand Slam glory, and 66/1 chance Pablo Carreno Busta, the recent Montreal champion who seems to thrive on these fast courts.

An interesting first-round match-up sees Spanish 12th seed Carreno Busta take on 2020 champion Dominic Thiem, although the injury-ravaged Austrian has lost all sense of form and will rightly be the outsider.

Tsitsipas hoping to live up to his billing

With two of the world's top six missing from competition in America - Djokovic and the injured Alexander Zverev - there are some weaker aspects of the draw and the second quarter is one of them.

Tsitsipas is the highest-ranked player in that section but he has failed to go beyond the third round in four visits to the US Open so many may feel he is vulnerable.

The Greek world number five, who is 12/1 to go on and be crowned champion, gets his tournament underway against a qualifier and his first real test could be in the third round, where serve-and-volley specialist Maxime Cressy looks a likely opponent.

Impressive Italian performer Matteo Berrettini may be lurking in the fourth round but the 13th seed doesn't look like he has had the best preparation while he missed the last two Grand Slam events. He was a semi-finalist here in 2019, however, and is 22/1 to go all the way.

With fifth seed Casper Ruud considered a clay-court specialist, big-serving American Taylor Fritz may appeal to many after his recent quarter-final effort at Wimbledon.

Fritz claimed the headline win of his career at Indian Wells earlier this year and warmed up for Flushing Meadows with a quarter-final appearance in Montreal. He is one of the game's big improvers and is 20/1 to be victorious in his home Slam.

Whoever comes through this section could meet Medvedev or Kyrgios in the semi-final.

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Young guns Alcaraz and Sinner headline third quarter

Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz, Marin Cilic and Borna Coric are just some of the big names set to do battle in the third quarter of the US Open draw.

Predicted by many as a future champion, Alcaraz, who is 11/2 for a maiden Grand Slam crown, will soon be expected to live up to those lofty expectations.

However, there is plenty of stiff competition in his section of the draw with fierce rival Sinner, who has won both meetings between the pair this year, an interesting title contender at 16/1.

Polish competitor Hurkacz is supremely talented, too, but he has a bit to prove in hard-court Grand Slams having never gone beyond the second round in eight previous attempts, so some trust has to be taken at 40/1.

The Croatian pair of Cilic and Coric, who are 66/1 and 28/1, respectively, also cannot be dismissed.

Cilic is a former US Open champion, having won here in 2014, and has rediscovered some form, while the same can be said of Coric who arrives in New York on the back of winning a title in Cincinnati, a success that saw him claim the scalps of both Nadal and Tsitsipas.

Nadal chasing more Grand Slam success

Super Spaniard Nadal took his Grand Slam tally to 22 with wins in Australia and France and he will be eyeing more joy at the US Open.

Nadal has missed the US Open in each of the last two seasons but was crowned champion in 2019, which was his fourth win in the illustrious event.

The 36-year-old has had his fair share of injury scares this season and was forced to withdraw ahead of his scheduled Wimbledon semi-final with Kyrgios.

But Nadal has mastered the art of peaking for the big events and at 7/2 is sure to have his supporters, particularly given what looks like a decent draw.

The mighty Mallorcan kickstarts his tournament against Australian wildcard Rinky Hijikata and the highest-ranked player he can face before the quarter-final is Diego Schwartzman.

The second seed looks set for a fruitful time in the States and his biggest tests may come from forecast quarter-final opponents Cameron Norrie or Rublev.

British number one Norrie is 33/1 to spring a surprise in New York while Russian number two Rublev is available at 40/1.