What Can We Expect from This Year’s US Tennis Open?

The US Tennis Open 2021 begins on Monday 30 August running through to Sunday 12 September in New York. Full attendance at matches has been announced at Flushing Meadows and fans will be excited to see the top players in the world competing.

Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal head the men’s singles field with Djokovic going for the Golden Slam and with OLBG you can find almost 40 free bets this month to go and back your favourite.

With victory at Wimbledon, Djokovic is in possession of the first three 2021 Grand Slam titles and made the decision to also compete in the Olympics prior to the US Open. Should he be victorious in both, he would become the first male tennis player to achieve the accolade, and only the second player ever in tennis history. The only player with this record to date is the legendary Steffi Graf did it in 1988, when she won gold at the South Korea Olympics.

Unlike Djokovic, eternal rivals Federer and Nadal have both decided not to compete in the Olympic Games and this break could prove to be vital in preventing Djokovic from completing the Golden Slam.

Djokovic will go into the US Open as favourite due to his current form, which makes him seem almost unbeatable to date. Defending champion Dominic Thiem will be looking to compete once again and will be joined by two other former US Open Champions, Stan Wawrinks and Marin Cilic in looking to overcome The Big Three.

Thiem is looking to bounce back from a dismal 2021, where he is currently nine for nine in his win/loss record. He is also coming back from a wrist injury, picked up in his second-round match against Adrian Mannarino in Mallorca, which lead to him having to withdraw from Wimbledon. His recovery of this injury will still determine if Thiem will be able to compete in the US Open, though he seems upbeat on his chances currently.

Andy Murray, US Open winner back in 2012, is currently the first player on the alternate list, ready to gain direct entry into the main draw, if any other the initial field is forced to withdraw.

In the women’s singles Ashleigh Barty, the World No. 1 and 2021 Wimbledon winner, comes into the tournament second favourite behind World No. 2 Naomi Osaka. Barty’s expectations for Wimbledon were tempered after being injuring her hip ahead of the French Open and having to retire from her second-round match at Roland Garros. Her level at Wimbledon rose with each game and she went on to claim her second major and first Wimbledon title, gaining momentum and form going into the US Open.

Osaka enters this year’s tournament after missing the French Open and Wimbledon for mental health reasons. She decided to compete in the Olympics, representing Japan, after having a break from the sport for work on her own mental health, something which she has been keen to encourage others to do.

A total of 15 Grand Slam singles champions will competing in the women’s event, including Serena Williams, who holds 23 major championship victories. 34 countries will be represented in the women’s entry. 16 competitors will be from the United States including World No. 4 Sofia Kenin, No. 15 Jennifer Brady and No. 25 Coco Gauff.

There will be an emotional return, and farewell, for Carla Suarez Navarro. Having reached the quarter finals of the US Open twice before, the Spaniard overcame Hodgkin’s Lymphoma earlier this year and has announced plans to retire from tennis at the end of 2021.

Iga Swiatek will be looking to surprise the rest of the field after an impressive year in 2020. She is the youngest player since 1992 to with the French Open and will look to bring more success in the US Open this year. Swiatek is a quick learner and has transitioned seamlessly from the junior game and the 20-year-old is looking to add to the French Open Championship she won in 2020.

On the men’s side, Matteo Barrettini will be looking to cause an upset to the favourites after his memorable performance at Wimbledon where he finished as runner-up. The 25-year-old has now moved up to No. 8 in the World Rankings and performed well at Flushing Meadows back in 2019, where he was knocked out in the Semi-Final by eventual winner, Rafael Nadal.

It seems that rest and recuperation could be the big talking points when the tournament comes to a close. With a number of players such as Nadal, Federer and Osaka having taken time off this year to look after themselves mentally and physically, should one of them be victorious this may be considered part of the reason.

There is a lot of pressure on these players to perform as well as their duties off the court and taking time to recover and prepare for specific tournaments may be seen as an important part of prolonging successful careers going forward.

Djokovic is going the other way, competing and currently winning all the Grand Slams available. As the year progresses and he arrives for the US Open after the Olympics, it will be interesting to see how he continues to remain focused and to be able to perform to the high levels he sets himself after a busy year.