The world of tennis suddenly has a rivalry on its hands that’s rapidly veering into historic territory. Throughout the last two years, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have stamped their authority across every major stage. Back-to-back finals against each other at Roland Garros and Wimbledon confirm that their duopoly isn’t just real—it’s overwhelming.
In Paris, Alcaraz summoned Houdini to wipe away Sinner’s championship points in a marathon that left fans and foes breathless; a five-set, 5-hour-29-minute classic that belongs in the same breath as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s 2008 classic. But redemption is a language Sinner speaks fluently.
At Wimbledon, the Italian dashed his Spanish rival’s three-peat dreams with an iron-willed comeback. Sinner, one of the best ever Italian tennis players, rallied to overturn a first-set deficit and won by three sets to one, hoisting his first trophy away from the hard courts of Melbourne and the Big Apple, ending Alcaraz’s 24-match winning streak at the All-England Club in the process. The stats are blistering: since the spring hard-court swing, Alcaraz and Sinner have won 70 of 77 combined matches, seized every Slam title, and rarely looked threatened after week one.
Yet the US Open, that late-summer crucible of pressure and unpredictability, is famous for ambushes. Even so, online sports betting sites still make the world’s top two players the ones to beat. The latest sports betting odds currently list Sinner as a 2.10 betting frontrunner, with Alcaraz a narrow 2.90 second favorite. So, the question remains: which underdogs – if any – can topple tennis’s young titans at Flushing Meadows?
Novak Djokovic
Dismiss him because of age—or recent semifinal losses—at your peril. Novak Djokovic is the architect of impossible narratives. At 38, the Serb remains a phenomenon: 24 Grand Slam singles titles, three US Open crowns, and a staggering 14–1 record in championship five-setters. What separates Nole, even as the miles accrue, is an unrivaled blend of tactical genius and an almost pathological refusal to crack under pressure.
His return of serve? Still the yardstick against which all others are measured. His capacity to dismantle young guns mentally is totally intact.
Sinner has finally left his teeth marks, beating Djokovic in each of the last two Grand Slam semifinals. But the GOAT’s numbers at Flushing Meadows paint a portrait of a player unfazed by adversity: among active players with at least 50 matches at the US Open, he holds the highest match-win percentage of anybody. If his body allows him to last the fortnight, Djokovic is not just a threat—he is the looming shadow every seed wants on someone else’s side of the draw.
Daniil Medvedev
On a surface tailor-made for chaos and risk, Daniil Medvedev brings order—his own brand of it, anyway. The Russian claimed his first and only Grand Slam here back in 2021, while he has twice finished as a runner-up. He is uniquely adept at turning the Big Apple hard court into his chessboard. His flat groundstrokes skid low, his movement is serpentine, and his defensive anticipation is unparalleled. This season, only Sinner and Alcaraz have a higher match-win percentage on hard courts.
But Medvedev is also the sport’s most effective disruptor. He’s beaten both men at Slams before, defeating Sinner at Wimbledon last year and Alcaraz at the 2023 US Open. His composure under fire is legendary, with an 80% break-point save percentage on hard courts in 2025. His tactical quirks—deep returning, cat-and-mouse exchanges—have frustrated the very best, and if he heads to Flushing Meadows on his A-game, he could well be unplayable.
Alexander Zverev
After the heartbreak of his devastating 2022 injury, Alexander Zverev’s long climb has become one of the season’s dominant storylines. The German, once seen as the game’s future, now looks every bit the present threat. Since May, he has hit over 400 aces—the most on tour—and is winning over 80% of first-serve points played. His backhand is a wall that even the best can’t break and has been used to batter both Sinner and Alcaraz in previous encounters, including his five-set epic against Alcaraz at Roland Garros last year.
Late-summer Zverev is a different beast. His conditioning, often a question mark, is now elite. In best-of-five, he’s proved he’ll trade blows with the tour’s sprint kings and outlast them. A disappointing early exit at Wimbledon will have motivated him even further to ensure he impresses Stateside, and a fourth Slam final is within the realms of possibility.
Ben Shelton
If any young American seems ready to reboot the golden age of US men’s tennis, it’s Ben Shelton. No American man has won a Grand Slam since Andy Roddick’s triumph at Flushing Meadows way back in 2003. Shelton has come closer than anyone.
The lefty’s semifinal run at the 2023 US Open announced his arrival, with him beating compatriots Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul before ultimately having the phone hung up on him in the final four by eventual champion Djokovic. Since then, he’s turned Arthur Ashe Stadium into his personal pressure cooker.
His serve routinely tops 142 mph, and in 2025, he’s posted a 72% first-serve points-won rate. But it’s not just numbers. Shelton’s athleticism borders on reckless—he’s recorded the fastest forehand of the year at 104 mph and has twice topped 50 winners in a single match at Slams.
What elevates him from sideshow to serious threat? His competitive bravado. No stage is too big, no deficit too daunting—Shelton has mounted five comebacks from two sets down in just two seasons. Backed by a Big Apple crowd hungry for a home hero, he’s the X-factor few top seeds will want to see in week one or two.
