The US Open is difficult. It is not by accident that no man in the Open Era has won the event without dropping a set; that it’s had as many first-time Grand Slam champions since 2000 (nine) as the other three Slams combined; that its Open Era leaders in singles titles have five (compared to 10 for the Australian Open, 14 for the French Open and eight for Wimbledon); and that Novak Djokovic, for his overall brilliance and 23 Grand Slam titles, has won just three times in Flushing Meadows.
But there is great reward at the end of the effort: A US Open title is tennis immortality. The field of 128 has now been winnowed down to eight—including, for the first time since 2005, three Americans—meaning that everyone remaining can at least entertain the thought of lifting the Tiffany trophy in five days’ time.
With that, let’s take a look at who remains—and yes, despite Laslo Djere best efforts, that group includes Djokovic, in pursuit of a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles crown—how they got here and their road to the 2023 US Open men’s singles championship:
Seed/Rank: 1/1
Next Opponent: No. 12 seed Alexander Zverev
Best US Open Result: W (2022 US Open)
Best Grand Slam Result: W (2022 US Open, 2023 Wimbledon)
Sets Won/Lost: 10-1
Time Spent on Court: 8:36
Outlook: The defending champion has yet to really be tested at this year’s Open. And with his draw coming up, that energy conserved should serve him well for the stretch run. Alcaraz and Djokovic entered the event as co-favorites, and neither has done much thus far to make anyone think otherwise, but Alcaraz has arguably the tougher draw to reach a second consecutive Championship Sunday. That starts with his Wednesday quarterfinal match against 2020 US Open finalist Zverev (who owns a 3-2 career head-to-head record against the 20-year-old), continues with a potential semifinal against 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev and would culminate in a likely showdown with three-time winner Djokovic in the title match. If Alcaraz becomes the first man since Roger Federer in 2008 to repeat as men’s singles champion, he will have earned it.
Novak Djokovic
Seed/Rank: 2/2
Next Opponent: No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz
Best US Open Result: W (2011, ’15, ’18)
Best Grand Slam Result: W (23-time Grand Slam champion)
Sets Won/Lost: 12-2
Time Spent on Court: 9:46
Outlook: Despite the breakout showing by the American contingent in his half of the draw, Djokovic remains the overwhelming favorite to advance to the final—and really, with Alcaraz, Medvedev, Zverev and Jannik Sinner all drawn into the top half, he has been from the start. After a brilliant first two rounds, Djokovic has looked mortal in his past two matches—needing to come back from two sets down to outlast Djere in the third round and playing a competitive three-setter against Borna Gojo in the fourth—but no one in the field knows how to navigate two weeks of a Grand Slam better than the Serb, who is into his 13th US Open quarterfinal. His next opponent, Fritz, has been lights out through Week 1 and has logged three hours less on court than Djokovic to this stage, a not insignificant difference but unlikely to be a deciding factor when they play Tuesday afternoon.
Daniil Medvedev
Seed/Rank: 3/3
Next Opponent: No. 8 seed Andrey Rublev
Best US Open Result: W (2021)
Best Grand Slam Result: W (2021 US Open), F (2019 US Open, 2021-22 Australian Open)
Sets Won/Lost: 12-2
Time Spent on Court: 9:38
Outlook: Medvedev entered the summer with the best hard-court record of anyone on tour but went out early in both Toronto and Cincinnati, leading to questions about his readiness to challenge for a second US Open title. The four-time Grand Slam finalist—all on hard courts—largely put those doubts to rest in the Open’s first week, however, and he enters the quarterfinals on the very short list of title contenders, a status burnished by an impressive four-set victory over Toronto champion Alex de Minaur in the fourth round. Despite the sluggish summer, Medvedev leads all ATP players with 36 hard-court wins this season and will be favored in his quarterfinal matchup against Rublev, against whom he owns a 5-2 career mark (though Rublev has won two of the last three). A victory there and Medvedev is likely to face Alcaraz in a second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, the Spaniard having won their Wimbledon battle this summer in straight sets.
Andrey Rublev
Seed/Rank: 8/8
Next Opponent: No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev
Best US Open Result: QF (2017, ’20, ’22-23)
Best Grand Slam Result: QF (2021, ’23 Australian Open; 2020, ’22 French Open; 2023 Wimbledon; 2017, ’20, ’22-23 US Open)
Sets Won/Lost: 12-3
Time Spent on Court: 10:11
Outlook: Will the ninth time finally be the charm for Rublev? The No. 8 seed is unquestionably one of the best players in the game, and has been for the past four years, but he has routinely been stymied in this round at Grand Slam events, posting an 0-8 record in the quarterfinals in his career. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, this 2023 US Open quarterfinal is unlikely to be much easier, with Medvedev, who leads the tour in hard-court wins this season, across the net. Fatigue could also be a factor for Rublev, who has gone four sets in each of his past three matches and put more time on court (10 hours-plus) than all the remaining men save Zverev, though only be a nominal amount.
Taylor Fritz
Seed/Rank: 9/9
Next Opponent: No. 2 seed Novak Djokovic
Best US Open Result: QF (2023)
Previous Best US Open Result: 3R (2018, ’20)
Best Grand Slam Result: QF (2022 Wimbledon)
Sets Won/Lost: 12-0
Time Spent on Court: 6:44
Outlook: Fritz was positively dominant through his first three rounds, dropping a mere 13 games over nine frames, and he backed that up with a straight-sets victory over Tsitsipas-slayer Dominic Stricker in the fourth round, making him the only man left in the draw who has yet to drop a set. This is Fritz’s first foray into the second week in Flushing Meadows, but he has been playing outstanding hard-court tennis all season; as evidence, his 35 victories on cement in 2023 trail only Medvedev’s 36. Up next for the 25-year-old Californian is Djokovic, the greatest hard-court player in men’s tennis history. Fritz trails their head-to-head series 7-0, with six of those going in straight sets. But he enters this one as fresh as anyone in the draw and playing some of the best ball of his career, giving him at least a puncher’s chance to advance to his first Grand Slam semifinal.
Frances Tiafoe
Seed/Rank: 10/10
Next Opponent: Ben Shelton
Best US Open Result: SF (2022)
Best Grand Slam Result: SF (2022 US Open), QF (2019 Australian Open)
Sets Won/Lost: 12-1
Time Spent on Court: 8:35
Outlook: Tiafoe loves playing at the US Open, and the event consistently elicits his very best tennis. Tiafoe has now reached the fourth round in Flushing Meadows for four consecutive years, and with a win over the unseeded Shelton in the quarterfinals, he would advance to the semifinals for a second consecutive year. This year’s US Open campaign has not required as much of Tiafoe as last year’s, when he had to beat Rafael Nadal and Rublev to advance, but the American has looked impressive nonetheless, straight-setting the three opponents he should defeat and ousting the always tricky Adrian Mannarino in four frames. All of which should put him in good stead as he eyes his first trip to a major final, a journey that starts in the quarterfinals against countryman Shelton in a matchup of two of the best shot-makers in men’s tennis.
Alexander Zverev
Seed/Rank: 12/12
Next Opponent: No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz
Best US Open Result: F (2020)
Best Grand Slam Result: F (2020 US Open), SF (2020 Australian Open, 2021-23 French Open, 2021 US Open)
Sets Won/Lost: 12-4
Time Spent on Court: 14:15
Outlook: It’s been a long road back for Zverev, who suffered a nasty ankle injury at the 2022 French Open that kept him out seven months, but he’s once again in full flight. He won Hamburg and has reached the semifinals at five events this year, including the French Open and the US Open tune-up in Cincinnati, and proved his mettle again Monday evening, going four hours, 40 minutes on a stifling evening to defeat the red-hot Sinner in a brilliant display of ball-striking. His ability to recover will be the key moving forward. In addition to the five-setter against Sinner, the lanky German went four sets and roughly three hours, 45 minutes in his second- and third-round matches and has 14 hours-plus on court so far. That is four more hours than any man left in the draw and more than five-and-a-half hours more than his next opponent, No. 1 seed and defending champion Alcaraz.
Ben Shelton
Seed/Rank: --/47
Next Opponent: No. 10 seed Frances Tiafoe
Best US Open Result: QF (2023)
Previous Best US Open Result: 1R (2022)
Best Grand Slam Result: QF (2023 Australian Open, 2023 US Open)
Sets Won/Lost: 10-3
Time Spent on Court: 8:21
Outlook: Shelton has been positively electric this Open. His 149-mph serve drew the headlines, and rightly so—that thunderclap of an offering is reflective of Shelton’s high-octane game, with easy power jolting from both the left-hander’s forehand and backhand wings. Amazingly, this is only Shelton’s second US Open, the 20-year-old having lost in the opening round a year ago, but it’s been an impressive one: victories over former US Open champion Dominic Thiem (who retired down a set in the second round), former Top 20 player Aslan Karatsev and No. 14 seed Tommy Paul. It’s also not Shelton’s first expedition deep into a Slam: The 2022 NCAA champion reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open earlier this year. Shelton is still growing into his game and learning to manage a professional season—he entered the Open just 5-15 in his previous 20 matches—but his maturity, fortitude and sheer ability make him a real threat to the higher seeds remaining. Next up: No. 10 seed and countryman Tiafoe in a can’t-miss encounter Tuesday evening.
