From the moment the first ball hits the table at the US Open on Monday, there will be plenty of drama.
From Novak Djokovic’s quest for immortality to Coco Gauff’s title defense to the rise of American men’s sports, there are plenty of storylines and subplots.
After winning her first Grand Slam in Flushing last year, Gauff is back, but can the 20-year-old repeat her second victory?
And the American men – with five competitors in the top 20 – are looking to end a 21-year drought without a major title.
But the biggest story of all may revolve around the biggest star of all: Djokovic.
Winning the Olympic gold medal not only cemented Djokovic’s position as the best player in men’s tennis, but also gave him what he called the best feeling of his career.
But even though no one has defended their title here since 2008 and this is the 25th major, a record, Djokovic vowed that he would not have a hangover from Paris.
“People ask me, ‘Now that you’ve basically won everything with the gold medal, what’s left to win?’ I still feel the drive. I still have the competitive spirit. I still want to make more history and have fun on the tour,” said the 37-year-old Djokovic. “Grand Slams are the pillars of our sport.”
“These are the most important historical tennis events we have, so if you’re not motivated and inspired to play your best tennis at Grand Slams, it’s hard to achieve that elsewhere. … The night sessions at the US Open are very famous. I’ll be playing my first match here on Monday night and I can’t wait to be under the floodlights. The noise, the energy of the stadium is just unlike anything else. I’m looking forward to it.”
The Serb had a few breaks ahead of the Open, with Rafael Nadal not competing and No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the top half of the field, meaning Djokovic only needs to beat one to win.
Both he and Alcaraz shortened their training sessions – Djokovic on Friday and Alcaraz on Saturday – but both appear to be at 100 percent.
And although they cannot meet until the final, the possibility of another rematch is tempting.
Djokovic suffered a tear of his right meniscus at the French Open in June, but recovered with a brace to reach the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Alcaraz.
In Paris, he turned the tables and achieved the most satisfying victory of his life – and one of the Spaniard’s few tough defeats.
“This is one of the most important finals of my career, of my life. It was a difficult moment for me to lose the gold medal in a really close match, even though I had chances,” said Alcaraz. “I’m trying to move on and learn from this match. I will handle the next finals or the next important matches of my career differently or better than I did at the Olympics.”
After her victory here, Gauff became a global star, carried the flag at the Olympic Games and got her own box of Wheaties.
But her exit from Wimbledon was tearful, she has only a 1-2 record since Paris and lost her opening match at the Cincinnati Open.
Can she find her old form in Flushing, where Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka are the two top seeds?
Gauff and No. 6 Jessica Pegula, who won the Canadian Open and reached the final in Cincinnati, lead a strong U.S. attack.
For the first time since 1996, both the American men’s and women’s teams have five players in the top 20: Danielle Collins, Emma Navarro and Madison Keys complete the women’s team, and Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Sebastian Korda and Frances Tiafoe complete the men’s team.
Meanwhile, two-time champion Naomi Osaka returns to the Open from maternity leave.
“I made a promise to myself to be as confident as possible and to trust who I am … throughout the year I had really tough matches and that affected my confidence a little bit,” said Osaka, who grew up on Long Island.
“I think coming to this particular tournament helps me. But every time I come here, I don’t really think about the two tournaments I won. I just think about how I felt as a kid because I grew up here and have such vivid memories of watching my favorite players. It’s more of a childhood nostalgia that I really enjoy.”
