US Open 2023 opening week wrap: Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz in no mood to waste time, Medvedev drops a set

Add as a preferred source on Google

US Open 2023 is off to a great start already. The championship started on Monday (August 28) and is midway through the third round. Barring Stefanos Tsitsipas's early exit from the tournament, there has not been any significant upset yet.

Here's looking at the performance of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev, so far.

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic, a three-time US Open Champion and seeded second, met unseeded Alexander Muller in the first round and won the match in three straight and easy sets (6-0, 6-2, 6-3). In round two, the Serbian was up against the Spaniard Bernabe Zapata. Djokovic clinched another easy victory, defeating Zapata in three sets (6-4, 6-1, 6-1).

Going into the third round, the Serbian is looking in great form. However, he believes that there is still some room to improve. Djokovic told official broadcasters, "I still feel I can play better. At 36 years of age, after 20 years of coming to New York, I still have the hunger to play my best tennis on this court."

Djokovic will face his countryman, Laslo Djere in the next round.

Carlos Alcaraz

Coming into the Flushing Meadows as a favorite to win the singles title, Carlos Alcaraz's first outing in the tournament was an unexpected one. Alcaraz was up against Dominik Koepfer, who faced an injury in his left ankle during the game and had to retire midway, helping Alcaraz reach to the second round of the US Open 2023.

In the second round, Alcaraz defeated Lloyd Harris in a three-set game (6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4)). However, Alcaraz gave away 29 points because of unforced errors. He would be looking to work on his shortcomings going into the third round against the British tennis player, Dan Evans.

Daniil Medvedev

The third-seeded Russian tennis star, Daniil Medvedev crushed Attila Balazas (6-1, 6-1, 6-0) and announced his arrival at the competition in style. Medvedev then had a three-hour-long battle against Christopher O'Connell in the second round. However, late in the night on the fourth day of the tournament, Medvedev shone with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-2 victory against the Aussie.

Maintaining his streak of giving hilarious replies, Medvedev said after the match, "Tough match. I don't know why, but one moment in the match he decided to play better. I played the same from the first ball to the last."