Andy Roddick has revealed his US Open prediction ahead of the mouth-watering semi-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.
World number two Alcaraz faces 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic for a place in the final at Flushing Meadows.
Alcaraz, bidding to win his second US Open title and sixth major overall, is yet to drop a set in the tournament, thumping Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals.
Djokovic’s run to the semis has not been quiet as smooth but the 38-year-old, chasing a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, beat local favourite Taylor Fritz in his quarter-final match.
Defending champion and world number one Jannik Sinner is in the other side of the draw and faces Lorenzo Musetti for a place in the semi-finals.
Sinner, who won his maiden Wimbledon title earlier in the summer, made a statement in his last match, dropping just three games in an extraordinary demolition of Alexander Bublik.
‘I’ve still got Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz making the final,’ 2003 US Open champion Roddick said on podcast, Served.
‘And then I have Sinner over Alcaraz. Carlos has maybe been playing better in the tournament but that doesn’t matter, it’s about the match-up for me.
‘They’re both playing well, they’re both striping the ball, we’re not worried about either of them.
‘I think Alcaraz has looked better but that doesn’t matter at all to me. The eyeball test matters to me less than the match-up test.’
While Roddick is backing Sinner to win back-to-back Grand Slams, tennis icon Mats Wilander has warned the reigning champion – and Novak Djokovic – that Alcaraz will be ‘really tough to beat’.
Speaking after Alcaraz’s emphatic quarter-final win, the seven-time Grand Slam champions told TNT Sports: ‘Carlos Alcaraz is through again, he played an amazing match.
‘He’s moving amazingly well, he’s hitting the ball well, his forehand is really working. Sometimes he makes mistakes on the forehand, not this time.
‘He has improved his serve so much that if you’re going to beat Carlos Alcaraz, you have to play like Jiri Lehecka did at times – the very, very best of your ability, because Carlos Alcaraz will not give anything for free.
‘He’s playing better in every round, and I think he’s going to get better in every round, so it’s going to be really tough to beat Carlos Alcaraz.’
Winning the US Open would see Alcaraz reclaim the world number one ranking from rival Sinner but the Spaniard is trying not to think about that during his run in New York.
‘It’s really difficult not to think about it, obviously. But every time I step on the court I’m trying not to think about,’ he said.
‘If I think about the number one spot too much, then I’m going to put pressure on myself, and I don’t want to do that.
‘I want to step on the court, try to do my thing, try to follow my goals in the match and enjoy it as much as I can. The number one is there but I’m trying not to think so much about it.’
Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime takes on Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the other US Open quarter-final, with the winner facing Sinner or Musetti for a place in the final.
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