The 2023 US Open begins on Monday in New York City.
Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek are the top seeds and defending champions, and both picked up another Major earlier this year. Yet both suffered significant losses a week ago in Cincinnati to other top contenders for this title. Alcaraz was defeated by Novak Djokovic in a near four-hour epic final, which was Novak’s return to North America for the first time in two years. And Swiatek was defeated by Coco Gauff, who has won two titles this past month.
The men’s singles draw also features four other US Open champions: Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Stan Wawrinka, and Andy Murray. The women’s draw boasts a total of 12 Major singles champions, as well as nine additional Major finalists. That includes recent Major champs Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Marketa Vondrousova.
Monday’s Order of Play on Arthur Ashe Stadium is headlined by Djokovic, Swiatek, and Gauff, as well as Frances Tiafoe, a semifinalist here a year ago. Elsewhere, Caroline Wozniacki plays her first Slam since coming out of retirement. And in a battle of Major finalists, Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Milos Raonic.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Alexander Bublik (25) vs. Dominic Thiem – 11:00am on Grandstand
Tennis has not been kind to Thiem since winning his first Major here three years ago. After suffering a serious right wrist injury, Dominic has struggled to rediscover his form. He’s just 13-18 this season at tour level, and hasn’t won a match at a Major since the 2021 Australian Open, losing his last six matches at Slams. However, he did reach his first ATP final in nearly three years earlier this month in his home country on clay.
Bublik also has a losing record this year, though he recently reached a career-high ranking of No.25 in the world after winning a grass court title in Halle. That was the most impressive week of his career to date, which included victories over Coric, Struff, Sinner, Zverev, and Rublev. He went on to reach the second week of Wimbledon, yet is 0-2 this summer on hard courts.
Their only previous meeting took place at Roland Garros in 2019, with Thiem prevailing in four sets. Can the 2020 champion repeat that result on Monday, and earn his first victory at a Slam in nearly three years? It’s entirely possible, though considering Dominic hasn’t even played a hard court match since March, and hasn’t won a hard court match since last October, Bublik must be favored.
Elena Rybakina (4) vs. Marta Kostyuk – Third on Grandstand
Rybakina is 41-11 on the year, and 12-2 at the Majors. But she remains a modest 3-4 at the US Open, the only Slam where she’s yet to reach the second week. A year ago in New York, just weeks after winning Wimbledon, she lost in the opening round to Clara Burel.
Kostyuk is a 21-year-old Ukrainian who just missed being seeded for this event, with a current ranking of No.37. She achieved her first WTA title six months ago at another American hard court event in Austin. Marta also reached the quarterfinals earlier this month in Washington, with strong wins over Bianca Andreescu and Caroline Garcia.
Making this first round contest even more interesting is Kostyuk claimed their only prior encounter. That occurred earlier this season in Adelaide, when Marta was victorious in three sets. I could easily see Rybakina losing in the first round of the US Open for the second straight year, but her offensive proficiency still makes her a slight favorite on Monday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) vs. Milos Raonic – 7:00pm on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Like Rybakina, the US Open remains Tsitsipas’ worst Major, where he’s just 5-5 lifetime. He also lost in the first round here a year ago. Stefanos is a solid but unspectacular 38-15 this season, recently winning his first title in over a year, at Los Cabos. And he recently named 1998 US Open runner-up Mark Philippoussis as his head coach, replacing Stefanos’ father, Apostolos.
Raonic returned to the sport in June after a near two-year layoff. He’s battled injuries throughout his career, and even considered retirement due to them. Milos is 4-3 this summer, and earned a big win earlier this month in his home country over Tiafoe. He is 16-8 at the US Open, with four appearances in the fourth round.
These players met twice in 2020, and both of those matches went to Raonic in straight sets. And they were both significant hard court occasions: the third round of the Australian Open, and the semifinals of the Cincinnati Masters, which that year was played on these same grounds in New York. But three years later, considering Raonic’s lack of match play, Tsitsipas is a considerable favorite to advance.
Tatiana Prozorova (Q) vs. Caroline Wozniacki (WC) – Last on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Like Raonic, Wozniacki recently returned to the sport. In her case, she had fully retired for three-and-a-half years, becoming a mother of two. But feeling she was hitting the ball better than ever, the 33-year-old is back. Caroline went only 1-2 this summer in her first two tournaments back, and now she plays the Slam where she is a two-time runner-up.
Prozorova is a 19-year-old making her Major debut. She qualified for this event by winning a third-set tiebreak on Friday against Roland Garros semifinalist Tamara Zidansek. In that match, Tatiana saved eight set points before taking the first set, and saved a match point in the third set. She has accumulated 34 match wins this season, almost all below WTA level. So while she is unknown, Prozorova is rising fast and dangerous.
So what will prevail on Monday night: Wozniacki’s experience, or Prozorova’s recent winning ways? On a big stage like this, and with the late night New York crowd behind her, I’m going with Caroline’s championship prowess.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Rebecca Peterson – Swiatek is now 53-9 this season, and defeated Ons Jabeur in last year’s US Open final. She is 2-0 against Peterson, having claimed comfortable straight-set victories at two other recent Majors.
Sloane Stephens vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia (19) – Haddad Maia was a surprise semifinalist this year at Roland Garros, but is just 1-2 this summer on North American hard courts. Stephens of course won this tournament in 2017, but is just 23-17 on the year. Four years ago in Acapulco, Beatriz defeated Sloane in straight sets.
Learner Tien (WC) vs. Frances Tiafoe (10) – Tiafoe made an exhilarating run to the semifinals here a year ago, yet has suffered some tough losses this summer, and arrives with little momentum. Tien is a 17-year-old American wild card ranked 690th in the world.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (15) vs. Mackenzie McDonald – Auger-Aliassime has lost eight of his last 10 matches, in a season where he’s been plagued with injuries and illness. McDonald has won twice as many matches this year as FAA, and was a quarterfinalist a few weeks ago in Toronto. Last June on grass in Halle, Felix beat Mackie in straights.
Laura Siegemund (Q) vs. Coco Gauff (6) – Gauff 11-1 on North American hard courts this summer since adding Pere Riba and Brad Gilbert to her coaching team. Siegemund won the women’s doubles title at the US Open three years ago, and in that same year, she defeated Coco in their only previous matchup.
Alexandre Muller vs. Novak Djokovic (2) – This is the first match in New York for Djokovic since his heartbreaking loss in the championship match two years ago, when he lost to Medvedev in Novak’s bid for the calendar-year Grand Slam. Muller has won 36 matches this year at all levels, but arrives on a six-match losing streak.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
