US Open 2023 preview: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek & Coco Gauff to challenge in New York

The imaginable of the fascinating rivalry betwixt Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz continuing successful different Grand Slam last volition beryllium 1 of the cardinal themes erstwhile the US Open begins successful New York connected Monday.

Few are looking beyond the associated favourites to triumph the men's singles astatine Flushing Meadows, wherever Djokovic is aiming for a record-equalling 24th large singles rubric and Alcaraz tries to support the crown helium won past year.

Poland's Iga Swiatek remains the pistillate to bushed arsenic the satellite fig 1 tries to repetition her first-time triumph astatine the hard-court major.

Over the 22-year-old's enarthrosis successful the rankings are a big of proven and in-form talents, led by Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka and location players Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula.

Djokovic, Swiatek and Gauff are the prima attractions erstwhile the tourney starts connected Monday, portion qualifier Lily Miyazaki is the lone British subordinate in enactment connected time one.

Going into the last Grand Slam lawsuit of the year, BBC Sport runs done the large talking points successful New York.

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Can anyone halt Alcaraz and Djokovic?

Djokovic bushed Alcaraz successful a classical Cincinnati last past week, their 3rd gathering successful 3 months

Such has been the prime of Alcaraz and Djokovic implicit the past 12 months, fewer pre-tournament predictions are veering distant from these 2 players contesting the men's last successful New York.

The brace clasp each 4 large titles, helping to make a gulf betwixt them and the remainder successful the ATP rankings.

Djokovic, backmost astatine the US Open aft missing past year's tourney due to the fact that helium was not vaccinated against Covid-19, volition wrestle backmost the satellite fig 1 ranking from Alcaraz if helium wins his opening match.

Alcaraz landed his archetypal large rubric astatine Flushing Meadows successful the lack of Djokovic and claimed different astatine Wimbledon past month, beating the Serb successful a thrilling final.

Their processing rivalry had been a dilatory burner.

It was bubbling astatine the commencement of the play but without some contiguous astatine cardinal tournaments determination was small accidental for the brace to spell toe-to-toe connected the court.

Now the match-up has ignited implicit the past fewer months pursuing 3 compelling contests successful the French Open semi-finals, the Wimbledon showpiece and past week's Cincinnati final.

Alcaraz and Djokovic cannot conscionable astatine the US Open until the last arsenic a effect of being the apical 2 seeds.

Players specified arsenic 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev, past year's beaten finalist Casper Ruud, emerging unit Holger Rune oregon caller Toronto champion Jannik Sinner - who person each suffered chastening losses to Alcaraz oregon Djokovic astatine majors this twelvemonth - look champion placed to situation them.

Rafael Nadal, Djokovic's long-time rival who plans to discontinue adjacent year, is missing arsenic helium continues to retrieve from the hep country that has kept him retired of astir the full season.

* denotes Russian oregon Belarusian subordinate who is competing arsenic a neutral athlete

Is this Gauff's clip and volition Swiatek's stranglehold end?

Expectation has surrounded Gauff ever since she arrived connected the country arsenic a 15-year-old improvement successful 2019.

The American's advancement since past has been important but steady, becoming a fixture successful the world's apical 10 implicit the past 12 months without yet winning a large singles title.

After a humbling first-round decision astatine Wimbledon, the 19-year-old did immoderate psyche searching and her enactment with caller manager Pere Riba, positive input from experienced advisor Brad Gilbert, has helped robust retired the inconsistencies successful her game.

The results person been clear. Gauff has won the biggest titles of her vocation successful Washington and Cincinnati this month, pitching her among the starring contenders astatine the US Open.

No American subordinate has won the singles rubric since Sloane Stephens successful 2017 but 3rd effect Pegula provides different genuine anticipation of a location champion.

Pegula, 29, triumphed astatine the Canadian Open successful Montreal - the different biggest tourney successful the pre-US Open plaything - and is hoping to crook her tour-level consistency into a archetypal large success.

Gauff (right) bushed Swiatek for the archetypal clip successful their 8 meetings connected her mode to the Cincinnati title

Just arsenic she was a twelvemonth agone erstwhile she won her maiden US Open title, Swiatek is inactive the frontrunner - contempt coming nether expanding unit from her nearest rivals.

She leads the rankings aft different awesome twelvemonth connected the WTA Tour, winning 53 of her 62 matches and claiming 4 titles.

But Swiatek mislaid to Gauff and Pegula successful her exits successful Cincinnati and Montreal, portion her stranglehold connected the satellite fig 1 ranking is again nether menace from 2nd effect Sabalenka.

The 25-year-old Belarusian volition apical the rankings for the archetypal clip if she matches Swiatek's show successful New York.

Pegula's consistency has helped her interruption isolated from the alleged 'big three' of Swiatek, Sabalenka and Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina, who is hoping to flooded the carnal issues that person troubled her successful caller months.

Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova plays successful the archetypal large since she became a Grand Slam winner, portion Tunisia's Ons Jabeur - beaten by the Czech successful the All England Club last and runner-up astatine Flushing Meadows past twelvemonth - hopes to yet onshore a large title.

Two-time champion Venus Williams, 43, is acceptable to play successful a 24th US Open - an Open epoch grounds for singles appearances - aft being fixed a wildcard.

Denmark's erstwhile satellite fig 1 Caroline Wozniacki besides received a wildcard aft the 33-year-old mother-of-two announced she was coming backmost from retirement.

* denotes Russian oregon Belarusian subordinate who is competing arsenic a neutral athlete

Murray acceptable to pb British challenge

Murray, 36, has been dealing with an abdominal wounded during the build-up, withdrawing from tournaments successful Toronto and Cincinnati arsenic a result.

While the occupation near him incapable to serve, the erstwhile satellite fig 1 - who won the archetypal of his 3 large titles astatine the US Open successful 2012 - has been capable to bid implicit the past week and is assured helium is physically ready.

Murray is 1 of six Britons to person earned nonstop introduction into the main gully astatine Flushing Meadows and is joined by Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Katie Boulter, Jodie Burrage and Jack Draper.

Raducanu, however, is absent arsenic she recovers from wrist and ankle surgeries.

The 20-year-old, who memorably created past by winning the 2021 rubric arsenic a teenage qualifier - had the operations successful May and is hoping to marque a competitory instrumentality to the tribunal earlier the extremity of the season.

Video replays to assistance umpires

Technology has been a cardinal portion of the athletics for galore years but volition beryllium utilized for a caller intent astatine the US Open.

The tourney has introduced a video-assist reappraisal strategy for seat umpires to beryllium capable to instantly cheque incidents - treble bounces, hindrance and a subordinate touching the shot oregon the nett - if challenged by a player.

"We haven't had it earlier wherever the seat umpires volition person the reappraisal astatine their fingertips," said US Open tourney manager Stacey Allaster.

One happening that remains the same, though, is the tournament's nighttime schedule.

Finishing matches successful the aboriginal hours has been a regular root of interest for players, but organisers person resisted calls to alteration its scheduling to debar imaginable precocious conclusions.

US Open nighttime sessions commencement astatine 19:00 successful New York and diagnostic 2 matches, meaning finishes successful the aboriginal hours of the greeting are common.

"At the moment, we are staying the people with 2 nighttime matches. We volition proceed to measure it," Allaster said.

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