Alexei Popyrin and Botic van de Zandschulp caused the biggest upsets in the US Open 2024 making the men's singles title race wide open. Popyrin stunned the title favourite Novak Djokovic in the third round and Botic knocked out the world no.3 Carlos Alcaraz in the second round to make things interesting in the last major of the season.
Alcaraz, the winner at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon this year, fell 1-6, 5-7, 6-7 against the world no.74 Botic. Alcaraz's exit boosted Djokovic's chances to clinch his record-breaking 25 grand slam title but the Serbian legend followed the Spanish youngster on Saturday.
With both Djokovic and Alcaraz out, the men's singles title race is wide open with Jannik Sinner emerging as the clear favourite. The world no.1 Sinner recorded two dominant wins in his first two matches and faces an easy clash against unseeded Australian Christopher O'Connell in the third round.
Sinner claimed his first grand slam title at the Australian Open 2024 and also reached the semi-final of the French Open 2024. The Italian star also bagged the Cincinnati Open title earlier this month to boost his title bid at the US Open.
Who can challenge Sinner for the title?
The world no.4 Dannil Medvedev is not the second favourite for the title and the top contender to stop Sinner. The Russian will target revenge for his Australian Open final defeat against Sinner earlier this year.
Medvedev knocked out Sinner in the quarter-final at the Wimbledon to end his five-match winless streak against the Italian. Notable, Medvedev also leads the head-to-head record against Sinner with seven wins in 12 encounters in the men's singles.
The 28-year-old Medvedev won his only grand slam at the US Open in 2021. He reached the final at the Australian Open and the semi-final at the Roland-Garros this year which make him the top contender for the US Open title in the absence of Djokovic and Alcaraz.
The third favourite after Sinner and Medvedev is the world no.4 Alexander Zverev. The German star has been in excellent form in the 2024 season and will look to end his long wait for the maiden grand slam title in the coming week.
Zverev reached the French Open 2024 final and the semi-finals at the Australian Open this year. He suffered a heartbreak in the 2020 US Open where he lost the final against Dominic Thiem by 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 on tiebreaker.
Notably, Zverev leads the head-to-head battle against Sinner with four wins in six singles meetings, including two triumphs in the round of 16 matches at the US Open.
