After coming fresh from winning the silver medal at the Olympics, Carlos Alcaraz is set to add his third major of the year at the 2024 US Open. However, it won’t be easy, as he would likely have to beat Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic in potential semi-finals and finals. And legend John McEnroe thinks the Spaniard might not be able to pull it off.
In a conversation with Tennis365, McEnroe confessed that while Alcaraz is his favorite player to watch right now, the toll of the first half of the year could weigh on him during his US Open journey, especially after his first-round loss in Cincinnati.
McEnroe said that Alcaraz needed a break after the Olympics, so his loss against Gael Monfils in Cincinnati was “a bit of a blip,” but he thinks it’s “going to be a big ask for him to win the US Open emotionally after everything that’s happened over the last few months.”
New York has historically been a place for upsets
Being the last Grand Slam of the season, the US Open has always welcomed surprises, both on the women’s and men’s sides. Since Roger Federer in 2008, when he won a fifth title consecutively, no man has successfully defended the title in New York.
That’s a positive point for Alcaraz, who lost to Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals last year. However, while not much talked about, the Wimbledon-US Open double act is also hard to achieve. Federer did it four times (2004-2007), Djokovic has done it three times (2011, 2015 and 2018) and Nadal has done it once (2010).
And, of course, Alcaraz is not the only favorite to lift the trophy at Flushing Meadows. Sinner, who already won his first round, and Djokovic are favorites too. However, McEnroe also sees other players as dark horses.
“You have Sinner with all the stuff going on around him, Alcaraz coming back from everything he has achieved and Novak going in after finally winning the Olympics. That’s why I say the door is open for a surprise winner at this US Open,” he told the outlet. “Maybe (Alexander) Zverev can do something. Maybe (Andrey) Rublev can get a better draw and finally get past a quarter-final in a Slam,” he said.