I love tennis! I love playing and watching tennis. I also love talking and writing about tennis and not just about the scores. This is the last major of the season and for the first time in decades I have absolutely no interest in tennis.

Has Tennis Lost Its Appeal?

It is extremely hard to remain excited and motivated when you cannot get a chance to participate in the sport. I was so looking forward to the qualifying rounds and was once again disappointed to learn that they were not open to the public. I think that was the last straw for me. As a New Yorker, I get up for the US Open and part of the joy for me lately was going to the qualifying rounds.

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Who Will Have A Breakout Performance?

Perhaps I will rephrase that by saying, “Who do I expect to get to the finals?” I think [1] Novak Djokovic, despite his Olympic performance, is still the guy to beat. And barring injury, I think [1] Ashleigh Barty will be in the final as well. Although the other players have not really been there week in and week out; there are still some threats to both players. Let’s be fair, the chaos in the world caused by the “pandemic” has made it extremely difficult for the players to stay committed mentally or physically.

Top Half Of The Men’s Draw

There are fifteen American men in the top half of the draw. A serious threat to Djokovic may come from [6] Matteo Berrettini, but that is a while off. Djokovic looks like he has smooth sailing in the early rounds. [21] Aslan Karatsev could be a threat, but he has been inconsistent lately. The fourth seed, Alexander Zverev, who may be his biggest threat will have his hands full immediately with American Sam Querrey. Really, no one else impresses me enough in the top to be a real threat to the number one seed. Can someone get really hot? Sure, but not likely.

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Bottom Half Of The Men’s Draw

There are six American men in the bottom half and two will not make it to the second round. Despite his quirky nature, [2] Daniil Medvedev will show up; he is his biggest threat. If he is focused, he should get to the final if the weather does not hamper him. [3] Stefanos Tsitsipas is a potential threat and so too is [5] Andrey Rublev; however, I will reiterate, they have not impressed me with any degree of consistency lately. Thus, it is still Djokovic and the rest of the field. The one variable that may play a huge role, “NY humidity”.

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