Three bold predictions for the 2024 US Open

The main draw of the 2024 US Open gets underway on Monday, August 26. The tournament will run through September 8, which is when the men's final will be played. One fun fact: If Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz play each other, that will not happen until the final.

According to FanDuel, Carlos Alcaraz (+200) is the betting favorite on the men's side. Djokovic (+250) is second with Jannik Sinner (+340) being third. Then there is a drop-off into who FanDuel thinks can win the tournament on the men's side.

On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka (+230) and Iga Swiatek (+370) are far ahead the favorites compared to the rest of the field. 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff is third but at +1000. Swiatek won the US Open in 2022 and Sabalenka made the final last year but lost to Gauff. So what will happen this year?

3 bold predictions for what will happen at the 2024 US Open

Jannik Sinner loses in the second round to Alex Michelsen

Sinner, of course, is a fantastic player. The issue is that the world finally finding out about his two failed drug tests in March, even though he was found not to have done any wrongdoing, is bound to take a toll on his psyche. Players care about their image, of course, and that can make focusing difficult at times.

To be fair to Michelsen, he is also an ascending player. He might not ever reach Sinner's level, but the American gave the Italian fits in a 6-4 7-5 Sinner victory in Cincinnati in August. Michelsen might not know he can beat the Italian yet, but he knows he can give him issues. The American shocks the world and defeats the ATP No. 1 in four sets.

Naomi Osaka defeats Jelena Ostapenko in the first round

Osaka might not yet be ready for another deep run in New York, but she knows how to win the event and has done so twice. If she is playing at peak form, her power should be too much for the temperamental Ostapenko. The two players have played before but not since 2016 which is meaningless.

Osaka has had a ridiculously inconsistent season, but she gave Iga Swiatek all kinds of issues at the French Open and should have won the match. If Osaka plays well from the start of the match, she will win in straight sets and could turn out to be a real threat at this year's US Open.

And your 2024 US Open winners will be...

Now for everything you have been waiting for: Our most likely completely wrong predictions for who wins on the men's and women's sides at the US Open.

It would be easy to pick a men's final of Djokovic and Alcaraz and that is what most tennis fans probably want. Let's not do the easy part, however. The guess here is that Daniil Medvedev finds his way through a very tough top half of the draw (that half features Sinner, Medvedev, and Alcaraz) to make the final where he plays Djokovic and beats the Serb in four sets.

On the women's side, Aryna Sabalenka is going to steam-roll to the final without dropping a set. She will face Mirra Andreeva in the final and win 6-2 6-3.

More tennis news and analysis: