US Open dark horses to watch out for at Flushing Meadows

Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams, Nick Kyrgios, Emma Raducanu… and Novak Djokovic? Let’s not go there. 

Many familiar faces will be taking center stage at Flushing Meadows but who are some of the more unheralded stars ready to break out before our eyes?

They may spring an early-round surprise while a select few have the potential to challenge up until the women’s and men’s finals on September 10 and 11 respectively.

As the US Open inches ever closer, Dailymail.com takes a deeper look at who you should be keeping watch for this tournament…

Botic van de Zandschlup (World No. 23)

The Dutchman is hitting form at the right time, rising to his highest ranking of 23 this week. 

Flushing Meadows should hold fond memories for Van de Zandschlup after he truly announced himself at the tournament last year, becoming the first qualifier in the open era to make a quarterfinal from a qualifying spot.

Van de Zandschlup lost in straight sets to Nadal at Wimbledon but has the capability to trouble the world’s best. He showed promising signs in a 6-4, 7-5 defeat by Daniil Medvedev at the Cincinnati Open in mid-August.

Beatriz Haddad Maia (World No. 15)

Brazil’s best-placed tennis player was bounced by 25-year-old Latvian world No. 16,  Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets at the Cincinnati Masters earlier this week.

While the 6-4, 6-4 loss is less than ideal, Haddad-Maia is an emerging force in the women’s game. 

The Brazilian has never got past second round at a major, but given recent form she possesses the wherewithal to go several stages beyond.

Haddad Maia’s recent three-set defeat by Simona Halep at Toronto’s National Bank Open final showed she is capable of mixing it with elite-level talent.

Borna Coric (World No. 29)

The Croatian Sensation is in the form of his life after dismantling several of the world’s best to take out the Cincinnati Masters. 

Coric defeated world No. 5, Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7-6, 6-2 in the final following up a terrific week which included beating Rafael Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Cameron Norrie — all of whom are in the top 10. 

Incredibly, the Zagreb native has jumped 123 places — yes, you read that correctly — after the win in Cincinnati. Entering the tournament, Coric was ranked 152nd.

After only dropping one set throughout the Masters — against Nadal — Coric will be an enormous threat to those vying for the title. 

Caroline Garcia (World No. 17)

There is arguably no woman in a greater vein of form than France’s Caroline Garcia. 

The 28-year-old won the Cincinnati Masters over two-time Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4. 

Entering the final, Garcia had more wins than any other woman on the WTA circuit this year.

The Frenchwoman made history in the Midwest, becoming the first qualifier to ever win the tournament. 

Despite losing in the first round of the National Bank Open in Toronto, Garcia’s form-line is promising, having knocked over world No. 1 Iga Swiatek in her hometown Poland Open in July, on the way to glory. 

Holger Rune (World No. 32)

The Danish prodigy has raised eyebrows on the tour, both for his spectacular play and unbridled, how to put this, enthusiasm. 

Rune’s recent form has been somewhat inconsistent, unable to defeat the likes of Cameron Norrie, Pablo Carreno Busta and American JJ Wolf in previous weeks. 

However, the 19-year-old did knock over former world No. 9, Fabio Fognini in the Canadian Open. 

Rune reached the quarterfinals of the French Open where he was told to ‘grow up’ and ‘show some respect’ by Casper Ruud in a tense battle. 

On route to the final eight, Rune defeated world No. 5 Tsitsipas and 14th seed Denis Shapovalov. 

Denmark’s hot-headed star also dispatched of Germany’s world No. 2 Alexander Zverev in April, so he’s certainly one to watch.  

Sorana Cirstea (World No. 38)

While the right-handed Romanian has yet to win a singles title during her professional career, she does have Grand Slam form on the hardcourts.

Cirstea made the last 16 in Melbourne at this year’s Australian Open before falling to Iga Swiatek in three sets. 

Impressively, the 32-year-old defeated Switzerland’s world No. 13 Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-7, 6-4 in Cincinnati just over a week ago. 

Don’t expect Cirstea to go all the way but she could cause some carnage in the draw with her powerful, flat groundstroke game.  

Lorenzo Musetti (World No. 30)

Last year the Italian became the youngest-ever player to break into the world’s top-100.

Since, he has taken out his first ATP title — the Rotterdam Open — and defeated the likes of Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, Canada’s Auger-Aliassime and Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.

Musetti famously pushed Novak Djokovic to five sets at least year’s French Open, showcasing just how good he can be.

The 20-year-old may have just lost to Richard Gasquet at the Winston-Salem Open but Musetti has shown before what a talent he is.

Ajla Tomljanovic (World No. 48)

The Australian-Croatian defeated world No. 4, Paula Badosa in Cincinnati to move up 15 places in the world rankings. 

While she was bundled out in the Midwest and Toronto, the losses came at the hands of Kvitova and Swiatek respectively. 

Perhaps there are no such thing as admirable defeats but there is certainly no shame in Tomljanovic’s performances at the tune-up events. 

The 29-year-old has never won a professional singles title and isn’t expected to at Flushing Meadows either. 

Although she has defeated the likes of Gabrine Muguruza, Emma Raducanu, Belinda Bencic and most recently, Badosa. 

Combine this with coming off a quarterfinal at Wimbledon, there is a chance Tomljanovic could muscle her way into the second week at the least.