It is Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic against the field at the US Open and the former has been tipped to win the title although tennis legend Jimmy Connors warns he does have one weakness.
World No 1 Alcaraz and 23-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic are the hottest players on the ATP Tour at the moment as the Spaniard has won six titles this year, including Wimbledon.
The 20-year-old’s victory at the grass-court Grand Slam included a five-set win over Djokovic in the final, but the Serbian won their most recent encounter as he outlasted the youngster in the Cincinnati Open final, saving a match point en route to an epic three-set win, while he also won the Australian Open and French Open.
Unsurprisingly, they are the clear favourites to reach the final in New York as they are in different halves of the draw and Connors agreed with that notion.
“You can’t win the tournament in the first week but you can lose it for sure. One day at a time, one match at a time, I hate that saying but it’s true in a Grand Slam,” he said the Advantage Connors podcast.
“If you look past your first round, you’re a loser and I say that from experience. The end result is if you had a gun to my head and said, ‘Alcaraz and Djokovic against the field, who would you take?’ I’d take them.”
He then appeared to lean towards Djokovic for the title as he added: “It’s tough for me to bet against the Djoker just because of his experience, his heart and everything that he can do.”
He ultimately went with Alcaraz even though he admits the Spaniard sometimes loses concentration during matches.
He continued: “But after winning that match, I know he has a week off but that takes a lot out of you. And if he gets a flow, has some easy matches I’d take him but I think I almost have to go for youth.
“But the only thing about Alcaraz is that he can have a little walkabout on occasion. But you know he’s going to stay in there and fight his ass off no matter what. That’s one think I like.
“It’s a long two weeks. I hope they meet in the final again which would be an incredible match, incredible for the viewing audience and the tennis fans. I’m going for the youth this time.”
