A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
For the next two weeks, the tennis world will be transfixed on Flushing Meadows in Queens, N.Y., for the US Open, the year's fourth and final Grand Slam. The tournament starting today promises both competition and drama, from Coco Gauff's title defense to Novak Djokovic's quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam win. Here to help break down the tournament, we're joined by Jon Wertheim, senior writer for Sports Illustrated. So, Jon, Djokovic is chasing that record 25th Grand Slam. He's on the opposite side of the bracket from Carlos Alcaraz, who he just beat in the Paris Olympics. Is that how it might stack up at the end?
JON WERTHEIM: They each have to win six matches to get there, but yes.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
WERTHEIM: I think that's probably, you know, as safe a bet as you could make. That's it. Ironically, I think Djokovic, age 37, probably is the safer bet of the two. Alcaraz has lost two matches in a row, one of those to Djokovic, as you referenced, at the Olympics. And he sort of looked like he tweaked his ankle in practice the other day. Who would think a 37-year-old man would be the favorite to win yet again?
MARTÍNEZ: I used to be 37, Jon. You know, I like the fact that he's maybe the favorite over the 21-year-old. Any other potential surprises that we should be looking out for on the men's side?
WERTHEIM: Well, the big question is whether Jannik Sinner, who is the top seed - the No. 1 ranked player from Italy - how he will handle a bit of a scandal, where news came out last week that he had tested positive twice for a banned substance. He was kind of sort of exonerated. He was exonerated. He's not going to face a penalty. He's allowed to play, but there's a lot of sort of questions swirling. And it's interesting to see. This is sort of a very demure, measured player. And it's going to be very interesting to see how all of this controversy, which is not something we usually associate with him, how that will affect his play. That's sort of the other big storyline.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Now, on the women's side, Coco Gauff is the defending champ at the US Open. But she just had kind of a bad loss at the Olympics - lost in the third round, got into an argument with the chair umpire there. How does her chances stack up?
WERTHEIM: Yeah, last year, she came in with all of this momentum and expectation, and she had won the series of tournaments heading in. This year, it's completely the opposite. She's lost three of her last four matches. She's still a very good player, a very popular player. She's American, will get a boost from the crowd. But there isn't quite the hype around Coco Gauff that there was last year. Maybe that's the disguised blessing.
MARTÍNEZ: Any other competitors on the women's side that you're going to be keeping your eye on?
WERTHEIM: Aryna Sabalenka, who is from Belarus and won the Australian Open, the other hard court major. She has looked very good. She's probably the favorite. The No. 1 player in the world, Iga Swiatek, always a threat but has not been a particularly strong player of late. The women's draw, as usual, wide open, which has its own form of entertainment.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. And Swiatek won the bronze at the Paris Olympics, so she's coming off of a decent showing there. So I mentioned, Jon, that Djokovic is going for a record 25th Grand Slam, which would break his tie with Margaret Court at 24. Since we're obsessed, it seems, with declaring people GOATs - the greatest of all time - if Djokovic wins his 25th, putting him alone in first place, is he the GOAT in tennis?
WERTHEIM: I would submit, yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
WERTHEIM: I would submit, you know, if he loses in a few hours, he is still the GOAT. But yes, you're right - everyone needs singular excellence now. Djokovic is the GOAT. He is the unicorn - it's longevity, it's quantity. I mean, I'm not sure Margaret Court is really his rival at this point, but yeah, what he's done in tennis is just extraordinary.
MARTÍNEZ: And 37 years old so ticktock, ticktock, right? He's got to win it if he's going to do it, right?
WERTHEIM: You're singing my song. Good to see him beating up on the kids still.
MARTÍNEZ: There you go. Jon Wertheim covers tennis for Sports Illustrated. Jon, thanks.
WERTHEIM: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF BIBI TANGA AND THE SELENITES' "AFRO GROOVE ON THE MOVE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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