Carlos Alcaraz had the best two-month stretch that he could ask for. After winning the French Open 2024, he managed to defend his title at Wimbledon 2024 and return to Roland Garros to win the silver medal on his Olympics debut. Alcaraz now has the opportunity to put the icing on the cake by returning to the World No.1 spot in the ATP rankings.
While Alcaraz has been successful as of late, he is also fortunate enough that Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will miss out on crucial points during the US Open series.
Sinner backed out of the 2024 Olympics due to tonsilitis. However, he pleasantly surprised fans by returning to the tour at the Canadian Open 2024.
With several top-seeded players from his half of the draw getting eliminated, the Italian had a great shot at defending his title. Unfortunately, a niggle in his right hip would prevent him to do so, suffering a loss in the quarterfinals against Andrey Rublev.
The 22-year-old has earned merely 200 points for his run to the quarterfinals, suffering an 800-point deficit. As a result, Alcaraz will cut the gap between him and the Italian.
To top it all, Sinner does not completely believe that he will have a deep run in the Cincinnati Open 2024 because of his hip injury.
On the other hand, Novak Djokovic had a great shot at gaining the World No 1 ranking. But the Serb surprisingly chose not to defend his title at the Cincinnati Open. That would cost Djokovic a whopping 1000 points.
So Alcaraz would be the favorite to win the Cincinnati Open 2024 and the US Open 2024. He will be fresh too after a much-needed break back home.
Alcaraz has not been affected by his absence from the Canadian Open 2024 since Sinner faltered in the quarterfinals. In Cincinnati, he will be the second seed and could face off against the World No.1, if both of them manage to make it to the finals.