Tim Henman has tipped Alexander Zverev to challenge Novak Djokovic for the US Open crown next week.
The former world number four has tipped the German to challenge the world number one for the US Open crown.
Novak Djokovic will look to win a record-breaking 21st grand slam and as a result win the career grand slam a feat only Rod Laver has achieved.
As Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem continue to rehab injury, Djokovic will be the clear favourite as he searches for more history.
However Djokovic will face tough competition from the likes of Toronto champion Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in his search for history.
But Tim Henman thinks that recent Olympic gold medallist Alexander Zverev will be the toughest challenger to Djokovic in New York, “Zverev’s performance in the semi-final and final [Cincinnati] were fantastic for different reasons,” the Brit was quoted as saying by tennishead.
“To come back from a double break down in the decider and break [Stefanos] Tsitsipas was a fantastic effort and then to come back and play the most incredible match against [Andrey] Rublev in the final.
“Up 6-2, 5-2, he had made one unforced error from the back of the court in the whole match and was serving huge. It was very impressive.
“There is no doubt that Djokovic is the favourite going into New York, but Zverev, [Daniil] Medvedev, Tsitsipas and Rublev are not just knocking on the door, they are banging on it now.”
Despite Henman’s claims that Zverev can challenge in New York he admits that the German still has vulnerabilities especially when it comes to his serve, “Those gremlins will always be there for Zverev,” Henman said.
“There is always going to be some psychological issues when you have served 20 double faults in a single match in your career, but he does seem to be more consistent.
“Up to the final in Cincinnati, he had only served 10 double faults in the whole tournament and when you look at his baseline game and athletic ability, there is no doubt for me that he is going to win multiple Slams in his career.”
We will soon find out if Henman’s predictions will be right as the US Open starts on Monday, with the draw taking place at 5pm BST on Thursday.
