Jimmy Connors has declared that he would pick Alcaraz and Djokovic as favorites for the win at the US Open but insists players need to take it match-by-match.
The 2023 US Open boasts a strong field of players, including 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev and last year's runner-up Casper Ruud. However, a lot of people are already predicting a highly anticipated final between 23-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic and world No. 1 Alcaraz.
The two players have already faced each other in two thrilling finals recently. The Spaniard defeated seven-time SW19 champion Djokovic at Wimbledon last month, snapping a four-year-long winning streak. However, the Serb got his own back at the Cincinnati Open last week, where he ousted Alcaraz in a grueling match that lasted over three hours.
Tennis legend Connors has also weighed in on the predictions for the last Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows. Speaking on his Advantage Connors podcast, the former world No. 1 revealed that he thinks of the top two seeds as the clear favorites to lift the trophy in New York.
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"It’s 3 out of 5. It’s a two-week event. It’s on hard courts. It depends on the weather. A lot comes into it, more than just the playing of the game. We all know they can play, some just play better than others. But if you put all that in a bowl and mix it up, who are you thinking that’s going to win the tournament? Alcaraz and Djokovic," he said.
The 70-year-old has eight Grand Slam titles, five of which came from the US Open. Therefore, he was careful to talk strategy and stress that nothing is certain at the 2023 major.
"You can’t win the tournament in the first week but you can lose it for sure. One day at a time, one match at a time, I hate that saying but it’s true in a Grand Slam. If you look past your first round, you’re a loser and I say that from experience," he added.
Nevertheless, Connors said that if he was forced to choose, he would of course pick Alcaraz and Djokovic.
"The end result is, if you had a gun to my head and said, ‘Alcaraz and Djokovic against the field, who would you take?’ I’d take them," he concluded.
Jimmy Connors says tennis needs players like Federer, Djokovic, Nadal, & Alcaraz: “You need guys like Roger and Rafa and Novak that are carrying the game. And now Carlos Alcaraz & some of these younger kids to come in and continue to carry the game and move it forward.”
