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Novak Djokovic & Dominic Thiem are the favorites for the US Open: Jannik Sinner's coach

Dominic Thiem (left) and Novak Djokovic (right)
Dominic Thiem (left) and Novak Djokovic (right)

Despite Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal not being in action at the 2020 US Open, the depleted field will not be entirely devoid of star value. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and World No. 3 Dominic Thiem have confirmed their participation in the tournament, and are raring to get back to competitive tennis after a five-month break.

The two-week-long hardcourt Slam features five-set matches over seven rounds in the hot sweltering North American summer, which is expected to be problematic for players returning from a long break. But in an interaction with Italian channel Super Tennis, Riccardo Piatti - the coach of Jannik Sinner - said that both Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem have the experience to handle those challenges.

"The US Open is a very long and tiring tournament. The weather conditions, the duration and the hardness of the matches can have a big impact, but Djokovic and Thiem both have enough experience to know how to handle this type of situation," Piatti said. 

The Italian believes that with the kind of physical conditioning, mental toughness and experience that Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem possesses, the short turnaround between long five-set matches shouldn't be much of an issue.

"I'm not just talking about the games but also about everything that can happen off the court. There may be a time when you win a match 7-5 in the fifth set on a very hot day and need to recover when your next opponent may have won by giving up and are very fresh. People like Nole or Dominic are way ahead of others in dealing with these problems,” Piatti continued.

Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem could use Cincinnati as a practice tournament: Riccardo Piatti

Novak Djokovic (left) and Dominic Thiem (right)
Novak Djokovic (left) and Dominic Thiem (right)

The ATP tour is all set to resume at the Cincinnati Masters next week in the lead-up to the US Open, which starts on 31st August. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Cincinnati event has been moved from its usual home to New York this year.

The players would, therefore, not be required to travel between cities during the American hardcourt swing. They would also be assured of arriving at the US Open after getting a taste of competitive action.

Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem are both scheduled to participate in the Cincinnati Masters. Even though top players don't normally play the week before a Grand Slam, this year is different given that the players haven't played competitively since the end of February.

In this regard, Piatti said that Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem could use Cincinnati as a practice tournament to warm up for the US Open. Both men have worked hard during the lockdown to stay in shape, and are the two biggest favourites to lift the US Open trophy according to the Italian.

In my opinion, Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem are the main candidates to win the US Open," Piatti said. "I think they will use Cincinnati as a practice tournament. Thiem has improved a lot during the period of the pandemic, he has trained a lot, he is in great shape and therefore I believe that they are the two most qualified to qualify for the final."

If Novak Djokovic wins the tournament, he will move to within two titles of all-time Grand Slam title leader Roger Federer (20). Dominic Thiem, meanwhile, is looking to becoming the first Austrian man to lift a Major in over two and a half decades.

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