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Bold predictions for the ATP’s return to play in 2020

By Brandon Daniels

Austria's Dominic Thiem reacts after winning a set against Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their men's singles final match on day fourteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on February 2, 2020. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images)
Austria's Dominic Thiem reacts after winning a set against Serbia's Novak Djokovic during their men's singles final match on day fourteen of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on February 2, 2020. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) / IMAGE RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - STRICTLY NO COMMERCIAL USE (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP via Getty Images) /
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BEIJING, CHINA – OCTOBER 06: Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates after winning the Men’s singles final match on day 9 of the 2019 China Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the China National Tennis Center on October 06, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Xinyu Cui/Getty Images)
BEIJING, CHINA – OCTOBER 06: Dominic Thiem of Austria celebrates after winning the Men’s singles final match on day 9 of the 2019 China Open against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at the China National Tennis Center on October 06, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Photo by Xinyu Cui/Getty Images) /

1. US Open predictions – Thiem wins his first major as Djokovic, Nadal prep for clay swing

The toughest part about predicting the season is that the large majority of players haven’t confirmed their plans for their returns. Djokovic and Nadal have both committed to playing the clay-court swing. On the other hand, World #3 Dominic Thiem hasn’t given much detail on the matter other than a few sporadic quotes.

"“If I have a really good US Open, playing the French will be very, very difficult,” he said recently. “If I exit soon in New York, it would be better for Paris. If I have to sacrifice one of the two Grand Slams, that’s the way it is at the moment.”"

With that in mind, it’s likely that Thiem is waiting out his biggest rivals’ decisions to decide which event he’s going to sacrifice. If both Nadal and Djokovic commit to playing the US Open alongside Roland Garros, Thiem will likely skip New York to adequately prepare for some inevitably tough matches down the stretch in Paris.

Alternatively, Theim would most likely be the favorite at the US Open without Nadal and Djokovic there to oppose him. Given that Thiem is 0-2 in Paris once he reaches the finals (both versus Nadal), avoiding him and Djokovic could be his key to breaking through to win his first major. However many Grand Slams he ends up winning in his career, the majority of them should come either in the twilight of The Big 3’s careers or once they retire completely.

My prediction for the US Open is that Nadal and Djokovic both skip the event to prepare for the clay-court swing. Nadal is obviously the favorite in all three events but this could very well be Djokovic’s best shot to finally dethrone Nadal on the hallowed red sands of Paris. The 17-time major champion only has one French Open title to his name (compared to 3 US Opens).

Not having Djokovic and Nadal opens the door for Thiem to win his first major championship. The 2018 quarterfinalist will have much less competition at the top and given his success on hard courts (2020 Australian Open finalist and a 5-time champion on the surface), he’ll certainly be a  favorite in New York.

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