Kim Clijsters Shows No Signs of Slowing Down After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal

Without Jannik Sinner, anything can happen at the U.S. Open. Former Belgian champion Kim Clijsters, speaking on the Love All podcast, attempted to predict the outcome of the season’s final Grand Slam tournament, which comes at a unique time on the tour: World No. 1 Sinner has withdrawn due to a knee injury, while his main rival, Carlos Alcaraz, has just returned from an injury that sidelined him for over four months.

“It’s hard to pick a favorite, especially now that Sinner is out. It seems to me that everything is really wide open. I think we talked about this last week: there are so many players coming into these major tournaments thinking, ‘Okay, Alcaraz is back, but maybe he’s not quite back to his best yet. And Sinner isn’t in the draw. I have a chance.”

In addition to the usual suspects, Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, the former Belgian tennis player believes many others have a chance to shine, and among them, one in particular: “It’s really hard to make predictions. On the one hand, you think of a player like Arthur Fils, who played so well in Cincinnati. Then, though, I wonder: maybe it’s still too early for him to win battles in best-of-five matches? That said, I think he’s a player who really enjoys the energy of New York. I believe he can push past his limits thanks to the atmosphere New York creates, especially in the evening matches. So, to answer the question, I’ll go with Arthur.”

According to Patrick McEnroe, Sinner’s absence represents a historic opportunity, especially for Alcaraz: “If Alcaraz can 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. Alcaraz himself preferred to temper expectations at a press conference at Flushing Meadows: “Returning to play in a Grand Slam wasn’t an easy decision, but I tried my best to be ready for this tournament. I missed the fans; I missed everything about this place, and I had to come back.”