Raducanu defends as Serena steps away – the players to watch at the US Open

The US Open kicks off on Monday with Daniil Medvedev and Emma Raducanu defending their titles.

Novak Djokovic is unable to enter the United States due to his unvaccinated status while Serena Williams is preparing to say goodbye to the sport.

Here, the PA news agency picks out 10 players to watch at Flushing Meadows.

An ill-timed abdominal injury ended Nadal’s hopes of winning the calendar Grand Slam when he was forced to pull out ahead of the Wimbledon semi-finals but he still has not lost a best-of-five-sets match all season. Time is not on his side but he has an excellent record in New York and won a fourth title on his last appearance at Flushing Meadows in 2019.

Medvedev goes into the tournament as the defending champion and world number one but the odds are probably against him holding onto either of those titles. Since his agonising loss to Nadal in the Australian Open final, the 26-year-old has won only one minor title and suffered some surprising defeats, while his status has made him a lightning rod for the furore surrounding the participation of Russian players.

It was in New York last summer that Alcaraz burst into the spotlight with a run to the quarter-finals. He won the Masters title in Miami in the spring and followed it up by beating Nadal and Djokovic back to back on his way to success at the Madrid Open. There appeared to be no stopping the 19-year-old but, such are the stratospheric standards he has set, his recent form has been a little shaky.

That the Australian is back in the top 30 despite his run to the Wimbledon final garnering no points shows what a consistently strong season he has had. Kyrgios finally appears dedicated to tennis – on his terms – and has built on his grass-court success with