Even if Thiem and the legend Becker Djokovic see ahead: The Olympic champion has the best cards for the courier.
The ATP world rankings reveal: times have changed. Novak Djokovic, the outstanding man this season, is still in the lead, but behind it are the players of the next generation: Daniil Medvedev (25), Stefanos Tsitsipas (23) and Alexander Zverev (24). Rafael Nadal (35) is only in fifth place, whether the Spaniard, who is suffering from a delicate foot injury, will make it to the podium again is open.
New generation
The leader of this young generation is Dominic Thiem, the Lower Austrian, who will turn 28 on September 3, will be out of the US Open and the rest of the season due to a wrist injury. His favorite in the Big Apple, like that of the legend Boris Becker, is Djokovic. “He will not miss this chance of the century,” says Austria's top man, who wants to be back at the Australian Open in January. After all, the 34-year-old is the first player since 1969 to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in one calendar year. And Becker says: “He is number one in the world and three-time Grand Slam winner this year. So, if Novak Djokovic is not the favorite at the tournament, who should it be? ”However: Has Djokovic coped with his disaster at the Olympics?
Imposing
But he also knows that his compatriot Zverev will probably be the Serbs' toughest competitor. After the Olympic victory and the title at the Masters 1,000 tournament in Cincinnati, where he played big and downright humiliated the Russian Andrej Rublev in the final, the Hamburg-based man is in a run. “How he played in Cincinnati, how he won there, that was a giant step forward,” says Becker. “Maybe I've never seen him play tennis so well,” said the six-time Grand Slam champion, praising the 24-year-old's recent appearances. “Something happened to him psychologically.”
First major final
Zverev is ripe for the first Grand Slam title, which counts a little more than the Olympic victory in the tennis scene. Last year he had the trophy in New York in mind, led clearly against Thiem and then had to admit defeat in the tie-break of the decision set.
Gold for the home
What has Zverev changed since last year? Germany's number one is shifting the game closer to the baseline more and more often, increasing its dominant game. In the moments when he let himself be pushed back a while ago and fell into the defensive role, he is now trying to determine the game. The hardness of his blows is unparalleled on the tour anyway.
But what is just as important: Zverev is now also popular in his own homeland, after the triumph of Tokyo (“I dedicate the gold medal to my country”), he won a lot of sympathy.
All of this not only makes him Djokovic's toughest challenger at the US Open. For the KURIER, Zverev not only played himself the role of favorite thanks to eleven wins in a row: he managed his first major coup at major level. After five titles in Masters 1,000 tournaments (Thiem holds one) only one logical step.
