3 players not named Djokovic, Alcaraz who have a shot at winning the 2023 US Open

The 2023 US Open is officially less than a week away. After just meeting in the finals of the Cincinnati Open this past week, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are expected to meet again in the US Open final (assuming the draw allows it).

The two players have a budding rivalry growing while continuing to have a stranglehold on the rest of the competition, currently listed as No. 1 and 2 in the ATP rankings by a wide margin. The two players are simply in a class of their own regardless of the surface they play on.

Alcaraz can solidify his status as ATP’s No. 1 tennis player by defending his title as US Open Champion while Djokovic can re-claim his throne as the sport’s top Men’s singles player by winning his fourth career US Open. Any player who wants a shot at the crown will likely have to go through at least one of the two in their pursuit.

All eyes and headlines are going to be focusing on the two faces of men’s tennis and for good reason. The stakes are has high as ever between the two.

Here are three players not named Djokovic and/or Alcaraz who have a shot at winning the 2023 US Open:

3. Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas has proven he can compete on the game’s biggest stages. He reached the finals in the 2021 French Open and 2023 Australian Open, losing to Djokovic in both matches. In fact, Tsitsipas had a 2-0 set lead in the 2021 French Open final before ultimately dropping three straight sets to miss an opportunity to win his first major.

The current No. 7 ranked singles player, Tsitsipas has been in great form in 2023. So far, he is 40-15 through 55 matches this year. He struggled during the grass swing but has continued to fare well on clay and hard courts. Tsitsipas has a combined 34-11 record on clay/hard courts thus far.

Tsitsipas earned his first title of the year earlier this month in Mexico when he defeated Alex de Minaur on a hard court to win the Los Cabos Open. He enters the US Open with momentum on his preferred surface. When he's prepared mentally and physically, Tsitsipas is one of the toughest players in the world to beat.

Assuming Tsitsipas has a shot at winning the 2023 US Open means he will likely have to go through at least one of Djokovic and/or Alcaraz at some point. He has a career 2-11 record against Djokovic throughout his career while being 0-5 against Alcaraz in their five matches. If there is any silver lining, Tsitsipas’ two wins against Djokovic were on hard courts.

The longer the Greek star can avoid having to face one of Alcaraz and/or Djokovic, the better off he will be. He is poised to make a deep run at the US Open this year as some big-named players are not at the proper level of fitness they need to be to compete.