2020 has been a strange year for many reasons, but COVID-19 definitely is atop the list. We saw the cancellation of Wimbledon, the postponement of Roland Garros to September/October, and the dropping out of many big names for the US Open all because of COVID-19. This year's US Open will be the first grand slam event during the outbreak of COVID-19, making it a grand slam unlike anything we've seen before. As a result, my list of 10 things to look for will be unique and different, but I will try to keep things as focused on tennis as possible. Enjoy!
Note: Click here to check out the draws. Action starts Monday.
#1. Will the U.S. Open be able to pull this off? The U.S. Open is hoping to find similar success to what the NBA has had with navigating COVID-19 and with fewer players to manage and just two weeks of tennis, I think odds are really good that the U.S. Open won't experience any disruptions due to the virus, but still, the first thing to look for in this event is whether or not the tournament will in fact be completed and how well the tournament does at replicating the NBA's bubble environment.
Note: The US Open has already had one positive test in #17 seed Benoit Paire, who will be replaced by Marcel Granollers. Click here to read more about that and the US Open's bubble.
#2. How will the eventual champion(s) be viewed? Due to the lack of fans, the fact that many notable names (E.g. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori, Bianca Andreescu, Simona Halep) won't be playing, and just the sheer weirdness of the event, it will be interesting to see how the 2020 US Open champions will be viewed. It will still count as a grand slam in the history books, but it will also be known as the U.S. Open that occurred during the pandemic. While I don't think that de-legitimizes the event, it's human nature for others to perhaps do so. On the one hand, this is a golden opportunity for someone to come in and win their first slam while on the other hand, if you're going to win your first slam, I'm not sure this is the one you would wish it to be. If that all makes sense.
#3. Expect chaos on the men's side: The only guy who I can feel comfortable predicting will make a deep run is the top seed Novak Djokovic. Djokovic has won three US Open titles and his favorite surface is hard court, so it's a pretty safe bet that he'll at least reach the final. As for the other half of the draw, it's anyone's guess what will happen. Dominic Thiem is the number two seed and the furthest he's gone at the US Open is the quarterfinals in 2018.
With Federer and Nadal both out, that frees up even more room for someone to make a surprise run to the final. That isn't to say Thiem won't make the final. I think he could, but odds are he won't, which means it's anyone's guess of as to who will come out of that other half of the draw. As for the women's draw, I actually think this is a year where there will be less chaos than the men's side. It'll be interesting to see if that holds.
#4. Can Sofia Kenin back up her Australian Open title? As a result of winning the 2020 Australian Open, the last grand slam we've had, Sofia Kenin comes in as the number two seed on the women's side. Kenin hasn't gone past the third round at the US Open, but after winning it all in Australia, there's a ton of pressure on her to go much deeper than that this year. It will be interesting to see if Kenin can make a deep run at the US Open or if she'll feel the pressure and have an early exit.
#5. Can Daniil Medvedev finish the job? Last year, Daniil Medvedev fell to Rafael Nadal in the final. This year, Medvedev is looking to finish the job, coming in as the #3 seed. After initially agitating fans a bit with his antics and temper, Medvedev gained a lot of new fans last year and became much more likable as the tournament went on. Medvedev is one of those guys who really feeds off the crowds, so in the absence of fans this year, it will be interesting to see if he can still fire himself up in the same way.
#6. Will Black Lives Matter be a theme? We saw Naomi Osaka pull out of the Western & Southern Open in protest only to finish the tournament when the event canceled play for the day as a whole. Osaka made a courageous move and generated some conversation. It'll be interesting to see how much messages of social justice, equality, and Black Lives Matter will play a role in this event. I'm sure a lot of that will depend on who wins and finds the most success. If Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka for example both play well, then I think there's a good chance those messages will become a big story, if not THE big story of the event.
#7. Alexander Zverev needs to make his move: Alexander Zverev once again comes in with a lofty seeding (#5) despite not having had much success at grand slam events aside from his run to the semis at the 2020 Australian Open. The furthest he's gone at the US Open is the fourth round and with the draw as wide open as it is, he has no excuse to not at least reach the semis and put himself in a position to win this tournament. If he exits in the quarterfinals or sooner, it will be a major disappointment.
#8. Can Madison Keys finally breakthrough? Madison Keys comes in as the #7 seed, still eying her first grand slam title. The furthest she's gone at any grand slam is a run to the 2017 US Open final, so it's been a while. Keys is in the same half of the draw as Serena Williams, so she by no means has an easy draw. Still, if you're looking for possible dark horses to win this event, Keys has to be considered as a real threat.
#9. Look for Novak Djokovic to win the men's title: Given that Federer and Nadal are both out, Novak Djokovic has to be favored to win the men's singles title. He's the top seed, coming off an Australian Open title, and all in all seems to have momentum on his side. As it stands, the all-time list for most grand slam titles on the men's side goes Federer (20), Nadal (19), and Djokovic (17). If Djokovic wins this title, he'll be one back of Nadal and two back of Federer. So when talking about history, this event is huge for Djokovic. Especially since Nadal seems to be saving up his energy to win at Roland Garros in October.
#10. Look for Serena Williams to win the women's title: If Serena Williams wins the women's singles title, she'll tie Margaret Court's record for most grand slam titles (24). Given that they played in fundamentally different eras, to some extent it doesn't really matter if Serena surpasses Court, but that notwithstanding, you know she wants to anyways. Given that the field is a bit weaker and Serena has a pretty favorable/open draw, I expect her to finish the job and in the process use her platform to advocate for social justice.
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