The 2015 US Open begins on Monday morning with 128 of the best players in the world competing to win the last major of the year. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic enters as the top seed in Flushing Meadows, but there's no shortage of stars, veterans and newcomers looking to emerge victorious in the Big Apple.
Here's a look at the favorites, contenders and sleepers in the men's draw.
FAVORITES
Novak Djokovic: The world No. 1 has been at the top of the rankings for the past year and there’s no sign he’s willing to loosen his stranglehold on that position. He’s won two Grand Slam men’s singles events (Australian Open and Wimbledon) and captured four prestigious Masters 1000 events – in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome – already this year, en route to posting a 56-5 record entering New York. Moreover, he’s defeated Andy Murray and Roger Federer a combined seven times in 2015 and has lost just once to a player outside the Top 10, so the US Open could be his title to lose.
While the biggest storyline in the women’s game is Serena Williams’ bid for a calendar-year Grand Slam, Djokovic himself could have been competing for such a milestone had he not lost in the final of Roland Garros to Stan Wawrinka.
Roger Federer: The five-time US Open champion has not won a major since 2012 and has not celebrated in Flushing Meadows since 2008. Both droughts could end in two weeks’ time if the second seed continues his strong summer. Federer has won five titles this year, including in Cincinnati last weekend, when he beat Djokovic and Murray back-to-back to win the Western & Southern Open without dropping a set.
Overall, the Swiss has lost just three of his past 27 matches on the ATP World Tour and, with his exceptional shot-making ability and exquisite touch at the net, has every chance of another deep run. His backhand is better than ever now he’s more comfortable with his larger racquet head, and his serve has developed into a more reliable weapon again this summer.
Andy Murray: A surprise loss to Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. in August was the one noticeable blemish on an otherwise sparkling summer for Murray, who snapped an eight-match losing streak to Djokovic in the Cincinnati final en route to the 2015 Emirates Airline US Open Series title. Murray has been in the final four of all three previous majors this season, losing to Djokovic in the final of the Australian Open and the semifinals of Roland Garros and to Federer in the semifinals of Wimbledon.
As the No. 3 seed, the 2012 US Open will likely have to go through at least one of those two top seeds if he wants to raise the trophy again inside Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sept. 13 – he’s scheduled to meet Federer in the semifinals and Djokovic in the final. But before he can get to the top two seeds, against whom he's 1-6 in 2015, he’ll face a stubborn test against Nick Kyrgios in the first round on Tuesday and a possible quarterfinal matchup with Wawrinka in the quarters.
CHALLENGERS
Stan Wawrinka: A two-time Grand Slam singles champion, “Stan the Man” will be looking to add the US Open to his 2014 Australian Open and 2015 Roland Garros titles. He dropped just three sets in the French capital this summer, defeating four Top 16 players in succession – including Federer and Djokovic – to win his second major.
Since winning on the red clay of Paris in May, however, the No. 5 seed has played only 11 matches across four tournaments, losing to Kyrgios in Montreal and Djokovic in Cincinnati. His hard-court form hasn’t been what he would have liked since his run to the final four in Melbourne, but on his day, he can ride his sweet one-handed backhand to a victory over any player in the game.
Marin Cilic: The defending champion is in the top half of the draw with Djokovic, Kei Nishikori, David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal, so the road to a repeat performance of last year’s victory is paved with difficult matchups. Still, with his style of play and 6-foot-6 frame, Cilic’s game is perfectly suited to hard courts, and 11 of his 13 career titles have been on this surface.
The No. 9 seed reached the semifinals in Washington, D.C., in August and has been to the quarterfinals of later at four other tournaments this year. He faces Argentine Guido Pella, ranked No. 91 in the world, in the first round, but don’t expect an upset. Cilic hasn’t lost to a player that low in the rankings since May 2013 (Pablo Andujar in Madrid), and he’s only dropped four matches to players outside the Top 75 in the past three years.
Kei Nishikori: Last year’s US Open finalist missed the Emirates Airlines US Open Series event Cincinnati last month with a hip injury, but he says he’s 100 percent healthy and ready to play in Flushing Meadows. He learned a lot from last year’s defeat to Cilic and backed up his run to the final with victories in Memphis, Barcelona and Washington earlier this summer.
The No. 4 seed's forehand remains his best weapon and he used it to good effect in wins over fellow Top 10 players Nadal, Cilic, Ferrer and Milos Raonic this season. Benoit Paire awaits in Round 1.
Rafael Nadal: Seeded eighth in New York, Nadal is making his 11th appearance at the US Open but just his second in the past four years. The 2013 champion missed both the 2012 and 2014 tournament with injuries, but has done well historically when he’s healthy. Nadal made the semifinals in 2008 and 2009, won the tournament in 2010 and reached the final in 2011, but his health and form are once again the key questions with the popular Spaniard this summer.
The No. 8 seed has won just three hard-court matches since Miami in March, and all three of his 2015 titles have been on either clay or grass. It’s been 14 months since Nadal was last No. 1 in the world, and although he is not scheduled to meet another seed until the third round, a first-round encounter with up-and-coming teenager Borna Coric is by no means a guaranteed victory.
SLEEPERS
David Goffin: Despite being seeded 14th at the US Open, Goffin hasn’t become a true household name yet. That could change in the coming fortnight. The 24-year-old Belgian reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and the third round at Roland Garros earlier this year, and he has won tournaments on both clay and hard courts in 2014. Should he win his first three matches in Flushing Meadows, a fourth-round showdown with world No. 1 Djokovic could thrust him into the international limelight.
Borna Coric: The unseeded teenager will be center stage when he meets Nadal inside Arthur Ashe Stadium for the second evening match Monday night, but don’t expect him to wilt under the pressure. The 6-foot-1 Croat is on the verge of a Top 32 ranking, and a 6-1, 6-3 win over Andy Murray in the Dubai quarterfinals in February shows he has the game to cause an upset or two. Just two weeks ago he pushed Wawrinka to the verge of defeat in Cincinnati, so his hard-court game is ready to go.
Jack Sock: The No. 2-ranked American man in the draw behind John Isner, Sock has a string of Top 20 victories to his name this year, including Roberto Bautista Agut in Indian Wells, Grigor Dimitrov at Roland Garros and Richard Gasquet in Washington, D.C. The 2010 US Open boys’ champion and 2011 US Open mixed doubles champion won his first ATP title this April in Houston and wouldn’t meet another seed (potentially No. 5 Wawrinka) until the third round.
Ivo Karlovic: The hard-hitting 36-year-old is always a threat the make a deep run in a tournament on the strength of his booming serve alone. There’s a chance he will meet fellow 6-10 boomer John Isner in the third round, so that could turn into a clinic of aces and power serving. Karlovic beat Djokovic in Doha, world No. 10 Raonic in Montreal and No. 11 Gilles Simon in Cincinnati – all on hard courts – so don’t be surprised to see him upset a couple of higher seeds in the Big Apple.
