Novak Djokovic
The defending champion has played only one tournament since winning Wimbledon last month and losing his Cincinnati semi-final to Daniil Medvedev will be a concern for the world No 1. Only a slight one, however, given how Djokovic has developed the knack of raising his game in the biggest moments this year, as he demonstrated by saving two championship points before outlasting Roger Federer in the longest Wimbledon final of all time last month. He heads to Flushing Meadows as the undisputed favourite.
Rafael Nadal
Another chance for the Spaniard to close in on Federer’s record of 20 grand slam titles. He won his 18th major at the French Open in June but he was left licking his wounds after being outplayed by Federer in their Wimbledon semi-final. It was a tough one for Nadal to take but he has impressed since then, crushing Medvedev in the final of the Canadian Open earlier this month. Having won this tournament three times, the world No 2 still looks too strong for the players below the elite.
Roger Federer
The Swiss must have spent the past few weeks wondering how he let it slip away against Djokovic at Wimbledon. He was the superior player for most of the match and had two championship points on his serve but he tightened up in the defining moments and paid the price. It was one of the worst defeats of his career and the fear for Federer, who has not won the US Open since 2008, must be that he cannot take Djokovic over five sets.
Dominic Thiem
The world No 4 remains in a search for consistency on surfaces away from clay. Following up a run to the French Open final with a first-round defeat at Wimbledon was a blow and Thiem’s results have been mixed since SW19. Losing to Medvedev in the last eight of the Canadian Open was more instructive than dominating a modest field at the Austrian Open and there are doubts over Thiem’s fitness after a virus forced him to pull out of his match against Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati.
Daniil Medvedev
Another grand slam, another hopeful wait for a member of the Next Gen to challenge the big three. Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas both fell well short at Wimbledon, while Felix Auger-Aliassime needs more matches at the highest level, and there is no point investing much hope in Nick Kyrgios. But perhaps Medvedev can step up after stunning Djokovic in Cincinnati. The 23-year-old Russian has climbed to No 5 in the rankings and backed up his win against Djokovic by beating David Goffin in the final.
