The much-awaited US Open 2021 is all set to begin from August 30. The tournament will miss some of the biggest names in the world of tennis, with the likes of Federer, Thiem, and Nadal. Overall, in the history of the US Open, only four unseeded players have managed to progress to the quarterfinals in the last 11 editions. Tennis is a very unpredictable sport. Anyone can beat any big player on a given day and cause an upset. So, it is a good opportunity for the youngsters to make their mark in the tournament and register their name in the history books. So, let’s look at three unseeded male players who could be the underdogs in the main draw at the 2021 US Open.
Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz will be playing in his first-ever US Open and has been in great form. He is coming into the US Open on the back of a remarkable performance at the Winston-Salem Open. Alcaraz lost to Mikael Ymer in the semifinal on Friday.
The 18-year-old defeated Richard Gasquet in the ATP tour final and became the youngest Spaniard to win an ATP Tour title since Nadal claimed his first trophy in Sopot in 2004. At the age of 16, Alcaraz made his ATP main draw debut at the 2020 Rio Open, defeating Albert Viñolas, 7–6(7–2), 4–6, 7–6(7–2) after receiving a wildcard for the singles main draw. World No.54, Alcaraz has the capability to pull off an upset or two if he shows the same kind of consistency in the US open 2021.
Sebastian Korda
Korda will be making his second main-draw appearance at the US Open. Korda won his first tour title at the Emilia-Romagna Open in May this year. He defeated Marco Cecchinato in the final and did not drop a set throughout the tournament. He also became the first American male tennis player to win on European clay since Sam Querrey in 2010.
Korda finished as the runner-up in the Delray Beach Open this year. He was just a few points away from making it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon this year. He also won the junior title at the 2018 Australian Open. The 21-year-old suffered an opening-round exit to Denis Shapovalov in the US Open last year. So, he will be eager to make his mark in the tournament this year.
Nick Kyrgios
The highly talented player, Nick Kyrgios has produced two stunning performances this year. In the Australian Open, he was leading by two sets against Dominic Thiem but eventually lost the match. And in the opening round match at Wimbledon where he beat the in-form Ugo Humbert in five sets. Kyrgios has won six ATP titles and has reached nine ATP finals, including the 2017 Cincinnati Masters.
Kyrgios is only the third player, after Dominik Hrbatý and Lleyton Hewitt, to have beaten Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic the first time he played each of them. The 26-year-old hasn’t been in great form of late. He had a knee injury that forced him to withdraw from last week’s Winston-Salem Open. He has lost three of his four matches in Atlanta just before US Open. Talent-wise there is no doubt, but can Kyrgios produce some astonishing performances and make this US Open memorable one, it will be interesting to see.
“He has as much talent, if not more than Roger Federer or John McEnroe. But it does not matter how ridiculously talented you are. It does not beat hard work, the day-to-day grind, and commitment,” Greg Rusedski said about Kyrgios