Novak Djokovic aims for Grand Slam record at US Open, Sinner suspected of doping tests

The last major of the year comes at a critical time for Djokovic.

This year, Sinner succeeded him as Australian Open champion, simultaneously dethroning him from his first place in the world rankings.

Carlos Alcaraz won his French Open title with the Spanish crowd favorite and then swept Djokovic off the court in a one-sided Wimbledon final.

However, Djokovic returned to the clay court at Roland Garros and surprised Alcaraz in the Olympic final.

With his tearful victory in Paris, he became the fifth player to achieve a Golden Slam in all four majors and Olympic gold.

The victory also silenced the growing number of doubters who had written off the Serb as a spent force in a new era in which 23-year-old Sinner and 21-year-old Alcaraz are increasingly moving into the spotlight.

Djokovic, who underwent surgery on his right knee in June, described his Olympic victory as his “greatest sporting success.” It was also the 99th title of his professional career.

“At 37 years old and against a 21-year-old who is probably the best player in the world right now and has won Roland Garros and Wimbledon back to back, I can say that this is probably the greatest sporting success I have ever had,” Djokovic said.

Sinner comes to the final Grand Slam tournament of the season after winning the Cincinnati Masters title.

However, that triumph was quickly overshadowed when it became clear that he was cleared of any wrongdoing after testing positive for a banned substance twice earlier in the season.

Sinner tested positive for clostebol, an anabolic steroid that is always banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

However, he escaped a lengthy suspension after officials accepted his explanation that the substance had entered his body through contamination by a member of the care team.

“I will now put this challenging and deeply unhappy time behind me,” Sinner said.

Australian player Nick Kyrgios described the decision to let him continue playing as “ridiculous”.

Alcaraz, who won his first major title at the 2022 US Open, was badly scarred by his loss to Djokovic in the Olympic final.

He burst into tears on the pitch before admitting that he felt he had “let Spain down”.

His preparation for New York was not made any easier by his second-round exit in Cincinnati against Gael Monfils. The normally calm Alcaraz smashed his racket on the court. He described the defeat as the “worst game” of his career.

Coco Gauff is the defending champion in the women's singles at the US Open, but the 20-year-old has suffered a worrying slump in form in recent weeks.

A stormy third-round exit at the Olympic Games was followed by early defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati.

No woman has successfully defended her US Open title since Serena Williams in 2014.

Five-time major winner and world number one Iga Swiatek, who was the champion in New York in 2022, reached the semifinals in Cincinnati, where she was defeated by Aryna Sabalenka.

Sabalenka, the Australian Open winner, finished runner-up to Gauff at last year's US Open, losing in the final after dropping a set.