Novak Djokovic is one of the favourites at the US Open later this month, but according to former player Laura Robson, he may be more of an underdog.
Many would have likely sided with her analysis before the Cincinnati Masters. Djokovic was coming from his summer break without any prep matches, so it's only natural to expect him to be rusty. He wasn't, as he was pretty sharp, surprising many.
His level pushed him to the final, where he outlasted Carlos Alcaraz in another nail-biter. The Spaniard controlled the match well, had a match point but ultimately lost the match in three sets. It was a much-needed reminder that Djokovic is still on top, and many might question whether he truly is an underdog.
For Robson, who talked to Skysports, he still seems like the underdog simply due to how Carlos Alcaraz has played against him and the weapons the Spaniard has that can hurt Djokovic. In the long run, it might work in his favour at the upcoming US Open.
And maybe he might be almost a bit more of an underdog in New York and the New York fans love to get behind anyone who's not winning, basically. So maybe things will come round for him. I can't really see a reason to not like him, or at least to not enjoy his tennis and and accept that actually, he is the best in the world.
Robson can't wait for the event, hoping to see Djokovic get that elusive 24th and equal the total of Margaret Court. It's pretty well known that she's not entirely liked in the tennis community due to her stances, and many would like to see her removed from the top spot. For now, Djokovic is the closest to getting it done.
I think I would like to see him get to 24. You know, the numbers are crazy, no matter which way you look at them. The fact that he's even competing for 24 is absurd, and I think it would be great for tennis to have him as a 24 time Grand Slam champion - there's sort of no conversation left to be had about in terms of numbers, who is the greatest of all time.
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