Tennis News: Carlos Alcaraz’s path to successfully defending his US Open title could be hampered by a number of hard-hitting opponents in New York.
In his first tournament after being sidelined for four months due to a wrist injury, the world number 3 is in the same half of the US Open draw as the player with 24 Grand Slam titles, Novak Djokovic.
This means that the Spaniard – who is the second seed – and Djokovic – the fourth seed – have the potential to meet in the semifinals of the last Grand Slam of the season, if both players manage to advance to that stage.
Both tennis stars recorded a 5-5 draw in their head to head encounters. Alcaraz won their only meeting of the season in the Australian Open final. The Spaniard arrives in New York as the defending champion after winning the second US Open title of his career in the 2025 season, while Djokovic has won the Grand Slam four times.
Before thinking about the possibility of facing Djokovic, the 23-year-old will first focus on getting through the fierce competition at the bottom of the draw. He will face Roman Safiullin — who beat him in straight sets at the 2023 Paris Masters — in his first singles match since April.
Apart from that, two players who won the recent Masters 1000 tournament could potentially be Alcaraz’s opponents in the quarterfinals, namely the champion in Montreal, Ben Shelton and the champion in Cincinnati, Arthur Fils.
Meanwhile, Djokovic will begin his title bid by facing Mariano Navone. If he manages to beat the Argentinian, he will face an interesting second round match against Matteo Berrettini or Stan Wawrinka, who will play the last Grand Slam of his career, coinciding with the 10th anniversary of his 2016 US Open victory after beating the Serbian in the final.
In the top half of the draw, first seed Alexander Zverev will face Lorenzo Sonego in the first round. The tennis player, who won his first career Grand Slam title this season at the French Open and advanced to the Wimbledon final, is 18-2 in Grand Slams so far in the 2026 season.
Zverev is predicted to meet the sixth seed, Alex De Minaur, in the quarter-finals, although the rising young Spanish tennis player, Rafael Jodar and the 2022 US Open runner-up, Casper Ruud also have the potential to be opponents of the German national in the quarter-finals.
Third seed Felix Auger Aliassime and fifth seed Flavio Cobolli are also in the same half as Zverev.
Article Tag: novak djokovic, us open, alexander zverev, carlos alcaraz
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/tenis/carlos-alcaraz-dan-novak-djokovic-berpotensi-bertemu-di-semifinal-us-open