IT has been a long eight month wait, but tennis fans finally have a Grand Slam to look forward to. The US Open begins on Monday and despite some notable absentees, it should be a fascinating two weeks of tennis. In our tournament preview, we look at who is playing, who the contenders are as well as some exciting Round 1 matchups.

WHO IS NOT PLAYING?

Headlining the outs are the two biggest stars of the modern era, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Reigning US Open champion Nadal pulled out earlier this month due to coronavirus safety concerns, while Federer had a second knee surgery in June that will force him to miss the rest of the season. These two have won nine US Open titles between them and their absence certainly opens up the draw for younger stars of the game.

Another former US Open champion in Stan Wawrinka will not be participating due to safety concerns. Top players Gael Monfils, Fabio Fognini and Nick Kyrgios have also elected not to compete.

WHO IS PLAYING?

Well, just about everyone else. The tournament will feature seven of the world’s top ten, which are Novak Djokovic (first), Dominic Thiem (third), Daniil Medvedev (fifth), Stefanos Tsitsipas (sixth), Alexander Zverev (seventh), Matteo Berrettini (eighth) and David Goffin (tenth). Other strong players competing are Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, Russia’s Andrey Rublev and young Canadian stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov.

WHO ARE SOME OF THE CONTENDERS?

This title is Djokovic’s to lose. The 17-time grand slam champion has 23 straight wins to his name in 2020 and just won the first ATP Tour Masters 1000 event of the year, the Western and Southern Open. With the number one seeding, Djokovic has a very easy draw over the first three rounds. His toughest potential opponent in that time is German 28th seed Jan-Lennard Struff, who Djokovic defeated 6-3 6-1 in the Western and Southern Open quarter finals just last week. Djokovic has been in the news a lot recently, as he is one of the players that resigned from the ATP Council and is leading the formation of a separate players’ association. We saw at the Western and Southern Open that this off-court drama is not affecting his on-court dominance, but it will be an interesting sideshow to follow.

Australian Open finalist Thiem appears to be Djokovic’s toughest competition on paper, but he is coming off a shock 6-2 6-1 second round exit at the Western and Southern Open. It remains to be seen whether that poor performance is a sign of things to come or whether he can recapture the outstanding tennis he was playing earlier in the season. His draw does not help his cause, with Bautista Agut, Auger-Aliassime and former US Open champions Andy Murray and Marin Cilic all in his quarter.

Medvedev should definitely be considered a contender, as he pushed Nadal to five sets in an incredible US Open final last year and will be eager to go one better. John Isner is the greatest hope for American locals, but he will have to face Djokovic in the fourth round if both players win their first three matches. Zverev, Tsitsipas, Berrettini, Bautista Agut and Goffin are the other leading candidates, while Shapovalov, Karen Khachanov, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic are some x-factors to watch.

FIVE ROUND 1 MATCHES TO WATCH:

[5] Alexander Zverev v Kevin Anderson
[7] David Goffin v Reilly Opelka
[8] Roberto Bautista Agut v Tennys Sandgren
[22] Nikoloz Basilashvili v John Millman
Frances Tiafoe v Andreas Seppi

SUMMARY:

The US Open will be very different this year, with no spectators allowed to attend the event. Rigorous testing and other strict health protocols will be in place to ensure the safety of all players and officials involved. Although the spectacle may look different without fans, there will still be some exciting tennis for the viewers at home during these unprecedented times.