By David Ramirez
27 Aug 2024, 08:36 AM EDT
The current rival of Carlos Alcaraz, world number 3, has no previous experience on the circuit, which he left for a while to focus on his studies.
For his part, the Spaniard is coming off a blistering season despite his defeat in Cincinnati, where he fell in the first round to Frenchman Gael Monfils. He will now have in mind winning his second US Open after the one he won in 2022.
The Spaniard is confident and said he is not worried about not having played as many matches on hard courts before the last Grand Slam of the year.
“Obviously I would like to have more matches on clay, but it doesn’t affect me at all, if we look back, for example, at Roland Garros, I didn’t have many previous matches on clay either, and then I had a great result, and the same at Wimbledon.”
Commenting on his rivals, Alcaraz says that they all have the idea of winning and that includes him.
“I think I always push my opponents to the limit. I try to be aggressive all the time, play different shots. They have to be aggressive. They have to defend well if they want to be alive on the point,” Alcaraz said in the interview prior to his match on Tuesday.
“I want to do well in every tournament, and the US Open is very special for me and is one of the best tournaments in the world, without a doubt. I really want to do well and win it,” added the Spaniard.
At just 21 years old, Alcaraz has 15 titles on the circuit, including 3 Grand Slams, a record after defeating Djokovic at Wimbledon for the second time, plus the silver medal at the recent Olympic Games in Paris.
At the 2024 US Open, the Spaniard faces a relatively comfortable draw in the early rounds, at least until the quarter-finals where he has avoided facing Medvedev.
The Russian was champion at Flushing Meadows in 2021 and has played in two other finals and was the one who eliminated Alcaraz last year in the semi-finals.
Matches to watch today
This Tuesday, some Latin American players will make their debut, including Chileans Alejandro Tabilo and Nicolas Jarry.
Tabilo, seeded No. 22, will face Belgian David Goffin, Jarry, seeded No. 26, against Australian O’Connell.
Argentines Facundo Díaz Acosta, Federico Coria and Mariano Navone face Frenchman Hugo Gastón, Portuguese Nuno Boges and German Daniel Altmaier, respectively.