The US Open is right around the corner, but neither of the two biggest stars in the men’s game have featured at all so far during the North American swing.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have yet to take to the hard courts so far, with the ‘new two’ withdrawing from both the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open.
Alcaraz, sidelined since April with a wrist injury, was targeting a return in Cincinnati, but pulled out before the tournament to extend his recovery time.
Is men’s tennis boring without Carlos Alcaraz?
Sinner, on the other hand, was expected to feature at the second ATP Masters 1000 event of the swing, but it was revealed that the Italian is dealing with a new knee injury, which led to his withdrawal.
The world number one is now, like Alcaraz, in a race to be fit for the US Open, but former British player Greg Rusedski is not fully convinced he will make it to New York.
Greg Rusedski discusses Jannik Sinner’s injury concern
In an episode of ‘Off Court with Greg‘, Rusedski said: “It’s concerning because he always plays a lead-up. Everybody plays Cincinnati usually, then a week off, then gets ready for New York.
“So obviously the knee is worse than we think because originally he said, I’m not going to play in Canada. Everybody was talking about it, ‘he can’t win all nine Masters series in the same year’.
“And then we find out he has a knee injury. So missing Cincinnati means he’s going to have to fly into New York the week before the US Open.
“If he doesn’t fly in there, say on the Monday at the latest, there’s going to be question marks. Will he play? And if Alcaraz and Sinner both don’t play the US Open, it is wide open.
Who is your pick to win the US Open men’s singles title?
“Djokovic thinking, maybe this is my chance to get a 25th. Zverev thinking, maybe I can get my second major. And Ben Shelton, I have to say, was the most impressive American in Canada.
“And he won the title without dropping a set. So, you know, those guys are kind of in the mix.
“There are two names that everybody’s thinking about, Djokovic and Zverev, if you miss the big two, and that would really hurt the final major of the year.”
Greg Rusedski picks the US Open favourite with no Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz
Asked who the favourite will be at the US Open if Sinner and Alcaraz both withdraw, Rusedski said: “Well, it has to be Zverev just because he’s won a major this year.
“He’s a different player, but he didn’t play particularly well in Montreal. But he just came back from holiday. So Cincinnati, these two weeks coming up are huge.
“Whoever wins that one or gets to the finals or has a deep run is going to think, hey, this is my chance.
“And it’s Ben Shelton who’s basically announced himself from the American point of view. Zverev and Djokovic are probably the two. But Djokovic, can he manage physically?”
Ben Shelton moved up to sixth in the world after winning the Canadian Open for the second year in a row.
Shelton is a former semifinalist at the US Open, having reached the final four there in 2023 before losing to Novak Djokovic.
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