Which ATP and WTA Players Will Rule US Open 2022?

The SEC’s tennis programs are constantly churning out talent with a view to one day making it onto the big stages that are the ATP and WTA Tours. The recent crop includes the likes of Ben Shelton and Ellen Perez, with the latter already having been as high as 40 in the WTA singles rankings.

As the hunt goes on for the next SEC standout who could break out onto the main tours, we take a look at who the hopefuls are for the upcoming US Open. Will there be another teenage winner following in the footsteps of Emma Raducanu? Can Daniil Medvédev show that his 2021 triumph was no fluke and instead the start of a new era of world domination?

The grandstands at Flushing Meadows were sent into raptures by the action that took place at the 2021 US Open, and players will be out to match those level of drama in 2022

The Old Guard

More than in perhaps any other professional sport, tennis fans love to stick with what they know, in the form of established pros with careers that span decades. Such is the case with the likes of Nadal, Federer, Murray, and Serena Williams, all of whom will no doubt be there to try and trip up the youngsters coming through the draw. Of course, then there are the wily old pros like Djokovic, who despite being 35 by the time the US Open rolls around continues to be the betting favorite amongst those who are into sports betting in New York in the lead up to the final grand slam of the year.

Meanwhile in the women’s draw there are plenty of fans who still hold out hope of Serena Williams rubber stamping her claim to be the greatest player of all time, by claiming the last grand slam title she needs to overtake Margaret Court. To be fair most fans already accept the younger Williams sister as the greatest of all time, because Court played at a time when tennis was barely a professional pursuit, but that won’t stop Williams from trying to upset her lengthening odds, to put the issue beyond doubt once and for all.

The Next Generation

While the changing of the guard in the women’s game has already happened, it can be argued that most of the ATP’s up and coming stars are still operating in the shadows of men like Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic.

Were it not for the Serbian world number 1, the coast would be clear for Daniil Medvédev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem to clean up. Just behind them there are the really young guns, like Jannick Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who both already appear capable of winning a grand slam.

The story is much the same on the WTA Tour, because with Williams largely out of the picture, virtually anyone in the world’s top 50 is capable of taking down a grand slam if they build some momentum. It was this tour dynamic that of course left the door open for Emma Raducanu to crash the New York party in 2021. Other youngsters like Iga Swiatek, Cori Gauff and Leylah Fernandez will be hoping to emulate her success in 2022.

Some old favorites might be rolled out in the Big Apple, much to the delight of those tennis fans who love their legends

The Crowd Favorites

The only thing that tennis fans like seeing more than Roger Federer adding to his trophy collection is a crowd favorite overcoming long odds to claim a career defining victory. People who could fit that bill in New York in 2022 include Sloane Stephens and Svetlana Kuznetsova, while in the men’s draw two good shouts would be the effervescent Gaël Monfils or John Isner. To be fair, the four crowd favorites mentioned here will be lucky to make the second week, but if they get good draws, then who knows what could happen!

Which ATP and WTA Players Will Rule US Open 2022? to SEC Sports Fan Blog

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