ANALYSIS: Main storylines to follow at US Open from Djokovic and Gauff questions to Raducanu's return and dark horses to watch

The US Open is upon us, so let's talk about some of the more interesting storylines that will be followed by fans during the event.

The tennis season mostly revolves around the players and their storylines intertwined with the four most important events of the year. So much stock is placed on the Grand Slams in tennis history that it's what most of us are waiting for. The final one of this year (US Open) is only about ten or so days away, so it's time to look at some of the storylines, which will be interesting to follow at the final Grand Slam of this year.

Storylines are in abundance, but there are some which are more interesting than others. There are others people will care about, but that's highly specific to an individual and whether you're part of a fandom. We'll begin with the reigning champions as Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff won the events last year. Both of them triumphed at the Cincinnati Open before the US Open, so keep that in mind as that event is going on right now. We'll see if that crazy coincidence happens.

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Will Novak Djokovic defend his trophy?

Novak Djokovic is not only defending the US Open trophy in New York but also his crown. The way the Serbian played in the Olympics was truly impressive, as he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final. It was a final that was somewhat expected, but the outcome was vastly different than what most predicted. Alcaraz looked much better than Djokovic in the weeks leading up to the match, so everybody kind of assumed he would just win that one as well.

Djokovic, however, proved that he still had it by beating everyone, including the Spaniard. Similar stuff happened last year at the US Open because he won that event, even though nobody really expected him to do that. This year will be particularly interesting because, by winning the Olympics, he catapulted himself at the top of the favourites list.

Off the back of Olympic glory, can Djokovic do it again.

He will arrive without any prep matches though, so that's going to be a minus for him. Still, it's not uncharted territory for him, as he's done that in the past a few times. We'll see if he ends up winning, but it's certainly one of the storylines many tennis fans will closely follow.

Can Coco Gauff win again?

Another storyline that many people will follow is how Coco Gauff handles this year's US Open. Last year was a dream come true for the American who was able to ride her incredible wave that started back in Washington, and she rode all the way to the US Open trophy picking up the Cincinnati Open trophy along the way.

Things are a bit different this year, as she hasn't been playing that well. The Olympics experience was very disappointing, and it didn't really change at the Canadian Open. A loss to Diana Shnaider won't inspire anyone, and she continued that bad run in the Cincinnati Open losing to Putintseva. Last year, she was able to ride a good form all the way to the US Open. This year, she's facing exactly the opposite situation.

Question marks surround Coco Gauff's form.

The expectations from tennis fans and the general public in the US will certainly be there. That will create a lot of pressure, which Gauff will need to find a way to deal with. We can't say that she's been able to do that well in the past, so it's just going to be a fascinating test for her. Defending the trophy will be pretty hard, but as long as she remains in the mix until the end, the American will likely be praised for her efforts. An early loss would be a huge letdown, so hopefully, she'll be able to avoid that.

Will Carlos Alcaraz retrieve the crown?

For about two months, Carlos Alcaraz was the best player in the world, no question. The Spaniard took the crown from Jannik Sinner at Roland Garros by beating him in the semi-final. He confirmed it by beating Alexander Zverev in the final and winning his 3rd Grand Slam trophy.

The stamp on that came at Wimbledon, where he won the fourth Grand Slam trophy of his career by smashing Novak Djokovic in the final. It was a huge moment for Alcaraz, who was celebrated around the world as the best player in the world. It was officially official, and nobody seemed close.

He had just crushed Novak Djokovic in a final on a surface that he's been dominant on for close to a decade. Jannik Sinner was dealing with some physical issues, and nothing seemed between him and the Olympic gold. Well, Novak Djokovic had other plans, and he took the crown away.

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Now, it's firmly resting on the head of Djokovic, and he'll hold onto it until the US Open. Whether Alcaraz finds a way to win it back remains to be seen, but he'll be among the favourites in New York. He was cruising through the draw last year until the semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, in which he played horribly. We'll see if he can do better this time around.

Can Jannik Sinner surprise?

You might be wondering why Sinner doing well would be a surprise, and the answer is pretty simple. He's in a weird spot right now, neither here nor there. He was the best player in the world for the first couple of months of this year, but lately, he's kind of faltered. He's dealt with some physical problems and is generally unable to replicate the level he's had earlier this year.

Being back on hard courts could help with that because his domination largely happened on that surface. The return in Montreal wasn't that special, but he hasn't played in a while. The Cincinnati Open should give us a better idea on where he stands right now.

The US Open will certainly be the main test, and it's historically been a really good place for him. If he can find his best tennis there, he can certainly challenge for the trophy, but we'll have to wait and see whether that happens.

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Emma Raducanu returns to New York

The biggest moment of Raducanu's career happened at the US Open three years ago, when she won the event. She's going to be back this year, though this is not the first time she'll be back. It's going to be the first year back where she's expected to do some damage.

She looked pretty good this year when she played, and the hard courts of New York clearly suit her style. Now, it's about her and how she handles being back on the court where she wrote tennis history. It certainly won't be easy, but Raducanu looks motivated and confident, so this could be another great run.

Time will tell, and we won't have to wait too much for that. A minus will be not having played too many matches, but according to reports from her camp, she's not worried about that.

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Is Iga Swiatek still number one?

If we look at the WTA rankings, Iga Swiatek is still number one. The main reason we ask this question is because of how the Olympics ended. The Polish player had a superb chance to win the gold medal at the Olympics because they were in Paris on courts where she won 31 of the last 32 matches played.

She would fail in that, getting beaten by Qinwen Zheng, and it's obviously going to leave a mark on her. The confidence probably took a hit, and those things can linger. The US Open will be a huge test for her because it's an event where she hasn't done that well last year. She won the trophy in 2022 but failed pretty badly last year.

One thing that could help her in her pursuit is the event switching back to the lighter balls, which were used in 2022 when she won. That will likely benefit her game, and she might go all the way. In either case, it's going to be a referendum on whether she's still the undisputed number one.

Dark horses

This is a question which is present at basically any tennis event. We always wonder whether some player could step up and deliver a historic performance, upsetting the usual order. The answer, as always, is yes. It can always happen, and there are some great candidates.

Ben Shelton might not have played well this year, but he'll be dangerous in New York. We saw it last year, and it could also happen this year. Tommy Paul has been amazing this year and will be a name to watch out. There are also others like Sebastian Korda, but the list is too long. The quality of tennis is really good right now.

On the ladies' side, we'll have Aryna Sabalenka potentially doing some damage. Paula Badosa has also looked really good recently, as did Amanda Anisimova, a native player who the American crowd will heavily back.

Overall, there is a lot to look forward to, and we'll have everything here for you so stick around.