TENNIS
Ivanisevic says Acaraz is the only player who can threaten Djokovic at the US Open
Djokovic’s coach said there will be many players trying to defeat Nole in New York, but only one has a real chance of doing so.
The countdown has begun for the start of the US Open, the fourth Grand Slam tournament of the season.
With the arrival of August, the hard-court events are taking place as preparation for the last major of the year, which will take place at the end of this month.
Novak Djokovic recently announced he won’t be competing at the Toronto Masters 1000 tournament due to fatigue, after an intense Wimbledon tournament, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final in an epic five-sets game.
However, will play doubles at the Cincinnati Open with Nikola Cacic in a decision that could be considered as part of Djokovic’s doubles preparations for the Davis Cup and the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Ivanisevic reveals the only player who can beat ‘Nole’
The 2001 Wimbledon winner spoke about Djokovic’s chances of winning his third major of the year and his 24th Grand Slam event title.
Asked about the next ‘Big Three’’s chances in the US Open and the upcoming Grand Slam events, Ivanisevic was very clear.
“Those stories are already a bit stupid. The change of generation has been going on for six or seven years. If we look at Medvedev, Rublev, Khachanov, Shapovalov, Felix, Sinner, Alcaraz, Rune…”, he told Sportske Novosti.
“(...) Kudos to everyone, but only one player can get it [the US Open], and that’s Carlos Alcaraz,” he stated.
Djokovic and Sinner, Alcaraz’s toughest opponents
If Alcaraz is the main threat to Djokovic in his quest for more Grand Slam tournaments, Ivanisevic pointed out that Djokovic and Sinner will likely be the main menaces for Alcaraz in the present and future.
“Yes, it will be an interesting rivalry. Each of their matches is tense,” he said.
“There is no one who can stay in a long match with Alcaraz except Sinner and Djokovic. Those who cannot stay for long at Alcaraz’s pace can immediately pack their rackets and go home”, he concluded.
Before getting to the 2022 US Open final, Alcaraz needed to go five sets to defeat the Italian at the US Open, in one of the best games that were seen in New York.
Now, though, Alcaraz seems to be a level above and will have the experience of having played and won two majors, which will probably make him an even more solid player.