Novak Djokovic’s recent triumph over Carlos Alcaraz in Cincinnati has placed him in a position to reclaim the world No.1 spot at next week’s US Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion will begin his campaign in New York knowing that a first round victory is all he needs to do to seal his return to the top spot once the tournament ends. Djokovic isn’t defending any points at the US Open after missing last year’s tournament due to not being vaccinated against COVID-19. At the time all foreign arrivals into America had to be vaccinated unless they qualify for a special exemption under an emergency health law that was lifted a couple of months ago.
In contrast, defending champion Alcaraz has 2000 points to defend. The Spaniard currently leads Djokovic by only 20 points in the standings. He would have had an 820-point lead if he converted his match point against the Serbian in Cincinnati.
Djokovic, who will be seeded second at the US Open, is seeking to win the tournament for the fourth time in his career and the first since 2018. Should he triumph he would become only the second player in history to win 24 Grand Slam titles after Margaret Court. However, 13 of Court’s titles were achieved before the start of the Open Era.
“After a couple of years of not being in USA, I didn’t know the way I’m going to be accepted by the fans or welcomed,” Djokovic told reporters on Sunday. “It was a perfect week in every sense.”
So far this season, Djokovic has contested the final of every major tournament. He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the Australian Open and then Casper Ruud to win the French Open. However, he came up short at Wimbledon where he lost in a five-set thriller to Alcaraz.
The draw for this year’s US Open will take place on Thursday with the main getting underway on Monday.
