The US Open is finally here. The tennis world is now descending on New York City, where they will fight it out for the last Grand Slam of the season. Unlike previous years, there’s lots of questions surrounding the defending champions, Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka. Can they repeat?

Let’s start on Men’s with Novak. He was beaten by a Daniil Medvedev, who has been the hottest player on the hard courts this summer. Cincinnati was the only tune up Djokovic played leading up to the US Open after his Wimbledon win. Given the time off, a semifinal appearance is not too shabby. Let’s not forget that Djokovic did not play any tune-ups leading up to Wimbledon either and he won. He also had a semifinal showing at the French and won the Australian earlier this year. I have no doubt that Novak will bring his best game to the US Open. This is what he’s been doing lately; he posts his best results at Grand Slams. Expect him to be in the final.

What about Nadal and Federer? I see both Nadal and Federer going into the quarters, and possibly Semis, but I don’t expect either of them to be in the final. At this point in their respective careers, both Nadal and Federer are still contenders at the French Open and Wimbledon. However, at the US Open, you need to not only be 100% fit after a long season, but also contend with the heat, the crazy scheduling and every other distraction that comes with New York City. There, I said it, I basically think Nadal and Federer are too old to win this tournament. Federer hasn’t won since 2008!

What about the Next Gen. Let’s talk about the Russian Next Gen, because they are the only ones worth talking about. Medvedev, Khachanov and Rublev are outstanding players who can go deep at the US Open. Out of those three Medvedev has everyone scratching their heads right about now. Sure, he’s been a rising player, now solidly in the top 10, but did anyone think he’d be as good as he’s been this summer on hard courts? He made three straight finals of three big hard-court tournaments, winning Cincinnati. In years past, players that do well in the US Open series swing, end up in the final. There’s no reason to believe Medvedev is about to slow down. I see him in the final.

This season has a lot going on to say the least. New faces and old greats will be bringing their best performances to the court. Tomorrow, I’ll go through the women’s side of things at the US Open. Between the Osaka, Williams, Barty and Andreescu, there is plenty to talk about!