Rafa4LifeEver
G.O.A.T.
He's the top favourite because he's been the most consistent player in BO5 HC tournaments for a long time, and after the OG triumph, he'd be in a savage mood. So its highly likely that he'd win the title.
As for why I'm taking him over the field, here's my 2 pennies -
Alcaraz is the only guy who can outmuscle & outlast him in these physically draining humid conditions, both from the body & mind alike. But he is in terrible form and won't even reach SF/F for a potential DjokoRaz clash.
Sinner can outmuscle him, but can't outlast him due to fragile fitness, so Novak would outlast him instead.
Medvedev can outlast him but can't outmuscle him, so Djokovic would just destroy him like last year despite not playing at full capacity.
Zverev can outmuscle and outlast him, but his mind will go into breakdown mode on every important point, so Djokovic would outclutch him.
Tsitsipas, FAA, Ruud and Musetti are completely gonna get their backhand and ROS destroyed.
Rune can cause him problems but eventually Djokovic would outlast him as the Dane is prone to tiring after 2 hours or so do, and sucks badly in outdoor HC tournaments.
Apart from the listed ones, I don't see anyone from the outside or inside the top20 challenging Novak in BO5 on a fast-ish HC, given that he is in a decent form currently.
Barring a freak injury or Alcaraz's form jumping up by a couple of notches, Djokovic is the realistic favourite for the USO.
As for why I'm taking him over the field, here's my 2 pennies -
Alcaraz is the only guy who can outmuscle & outlast him in these physically draining humid conditions, both from the body & mind alike. But he is in terrible form and won't even reach SF/F for a potential DjokoRaz clash.
Sinner can outmuscle him, but can't outlast him due to fragile fitness, so Novak would outlast him instead.
Medvedev can outlast him but can't outmuscle him, so Djokovic would just destroy him like last year despite not playing at full capacity.
Zverev can outmuscle and outlast him, but his mind will go into breakdown mode on every important point, so Djokovic would outclutch him.
Tsitsipas, FAA, Ruud and Musetti are completely gonna get their backhand and ROS destroyed.
Rune can cause him problems but eventually Djokovic would outlast him as the Dane is prone to tiring after 2 hours or so do, and sucks badly in outdoor HC tournaments.
Apart from the listed ones, I don't see anyone from the outside or inside the top20 challenging Novak in BO5 on a fast-ish HC, given that he is in a decent form currently.
Barring a freak injury or Alcaraz's form jumping up by a couple of notches, Djokovic is the realistic favourite for the USO.
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