There are only four Grand Slams per year, and for the last 18 years or so, they have been primarily contested between Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal.

Not this year. Nadal will not be playing in the 2023 French Open. Wimbledon and the US Open may also be in doubt. He has already stated that he will retire after the 2024 season.

This means that Djokovic will not have to contend with either Federer or Nadal for the foreseeable future. What this doesn’t mean is that it will be clean-up time for Djokovic. Especially because we have a new generation of tennis players coming up that are legit Grand Slam contenders. The most talented of these youngsters is Carlos Alcaraz, the current number-one player in the world.

Most odds makers will have either Djokovic or Alcaraz as heavy favorites in each Grand Slam the rest of the way. At the French Open, because Djokovic is seeded third, he would face Alcaraz in a semifinal. If somehow Djokovic recovers either the number one ranking or the number two ranking, he’d be facing Alcaraz in the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open.

Regardless of where they face each other, the question will be: who will take more Grand Slams this year? Will it be Djokovic, who already tore through the 2023 Australian Open draw to lift his 22nd Grand Slam title? Or will it be Alcaraz who has already captured the 2022 US Open and will be the defending champion there?

The way that I see it, Carlos is likely to lift the French Open crown, while Djokovic will successfully defend his Wimbledon title. The US Open will be totally up for grabs. With Djokovic in the draw after being absent in 2022, he’ll be hungry for a title he has won three times, most recently in 2018.

However, it may not be all Carlos and Djokovic at the US Open. Daniil Medvedev is showing great form as of late, and let’s not forget he completely destroyed Djokovic at the 2021 US Open final. Youngsters such as Holger Rune and Jannick Sinner will also be a threat throughout the rest of the season. Nevertheless, all eyes will be on Djokovic and Alcaraz from Spring through the summer.

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