US Open Preview: many Czechs in action and the return of the world number one

The last Grand Slam tournament is fast approaching and everything is ready for it in New York. The US Open starts on August 29th, so it’s time for the traditional preview of the American “Big Four” tournament. The US will play without Novak Djokovic, but this time with world number one Daniil Medvedev, who had to miss Wimbledon. And also with several Czechs.

Emma Raducanu and Daniil Medvedev are defending their titles. It is the Briton who will be under scrutiny as she has shown virtually no good performances since her triumph last year. And she is not expected to defend her title in New York.

Petra Kvitova will go into the tournament as the Czech number one (according to the rankings as of 22 August 2022 – ed.), while Jiri Lehecka is the best Czech among the men. At least two Czechs, Lehečka and Vesely, are guaranteed to play in the main tournament among the men, while at least seven Czech players, Krejcikova, Kvitova, Pliskova, Bouzkova, Martincova, Muchová and Siniakova, will play among the women. Four more tennis players have qualified for the qualification.

We cannot look for the main favourites for the title in the Czech ranks this time. In the women’s pool, the world number one Iga Świątek is again considered a candidate for the title. She is not doing so well on the American concrete so far, but the Grand Slam atmosphere offers different and often very interesting results.

Especially the women’s bracket has practically no favourite. The last few years have regularly shown that anyone can win from the top. Among the men, there are only a few names whose chances of winning the title are high.

Besides Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Carlos Alcaraz and of course Rafael Nadal, who is returning from injury, can go far. The black horses will be Cameron Norrie or Félix Auger-Aliassime.

142. the annual US Open will begin in New York on August 29 and run until September 11. There will be 127 singles matches and 63 doubles matches on the concrete courts. Selected matches will be broadcast by Eurosport.

Source: US Open