Patrick McEnroe takes a direct shot at Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz

“A huge opportunity”: Patrick McEnroe didn’t mince words ahead of the start of the U.S. Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the season, which unfortunately will not feature Jannik Sinner in the draw. The world No. 1 has been sidelined by a knee injury that also forced him to miss the last two Masters 1000 tournaments.

According to the former American tennis player—brother of the more famous John and now a TV pundit after serving as captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team—the golden opportunity belongs to Carlos Alcaraz, who has just returned from a wrist injury that sidelined him for four and a half months. “If Alcaraz manages to regain some of his form, I see him as the favorite. It’s true that he hasn’t played since spring, but with Jannik Sinner out of the picture, I think this is a massive opportunity for him. As far as I’m concerned, he’s already the favorite right now,” he told ESPN.

The Murcia-born tennis player, however, toned down his goals a bit during a press conference at Flushing Meadows: “Returning to play in a Grand Slam wasn’t an easy decision, but I tried to give it my all to be ready for this tournament. I missed the crowd; I missed everything about this place, and I had to come back.”

Alexander Zverev will be the No. 1 seed, while Alcaraz will be the No. 2 seed. The two are on opposite sides of the draw and could potentially meet only in the final. Behind them are Felix Auger-Aliassime as the third seed and Novak Djokovic as the fourth. Flavio Cobolli, fresh off a semifinal appearance in Cincinnati, is the fifth seed with 3,720 ranking points, while Lorenzo Musetti is 13th and Luciano Darderi 21st. In the women’s draw, Jasmine Paolini will be the No. 21 seed.