New York proves tough place for No. 1 seeds

If there was one thing that was going to be predictable about this year’s US Open, it’s that it was going to be unpredictable. Nothing demonstrated that more than the plight of the top seeds in singles and doubles: For the first time in the 2000s, every one of them failed to make it to at least the quarterfinals.

Here’s a look of how it all went downhill for the players at the top of their respective draws.

Novak Djokovic

Defaulted in the fourth round against Pablo Carreno Busta

Going into the 2020 US Open, Djokovic was the overwhelming favorite to claim the title, owning more than four times the number of singles majors as the rest of the field combined. Undefeated on the year, the Serb won through the first week to set up a round-of-16 encounter against former US Open semifinalist Carreno Busta. The Spaniard stayed even with Djokovic through the first 10 games in what was shaping up to be a high-caliber match. Then came the smacked ball felt around the world, and the three-time champion was out of the tournament. With the last major winner in the draw eliminated, the men’s game would have a new Slam champion for the first time in six years.

Karolina Pliskova

Defeated in the second round by Caroline Garcia

When you’re widely regarded as being one of/if not the best active players yet to win a Grand Slam, there’s going to be an added amount of pressure every time you take the court at a major until that monkey’s off your back. Throw in the fact that you have to face a former top-five player in Garcia that’s always played you tough, and the task of winning through became even more difficult for Pliskova. The 2016 finalist—who was elevated to the top spot in the draw after Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep decided not to play—fell to the Frenchwoman in straight sets in the second round, extending her streak of failing to reach at least the quarterfinals of a Slam to five, dating back to last year.

Timea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic

Withdrawn before their second-round match

Back in 2018, the Hungarian/French pair reunited and experienced immediate success, capturing the Australian Open for their first major title together. Over the course of the next couple of years, they added more Slams and year-end championships to their title haul to establish themselves as being among the best in the business. The 2018 US Open runners-up were eager to go a step further than that showing this year, but never got the chance.

The duo was withdrawn from the tournament before their second-round match, due to Mladenovic’s status as part of the “Paire 11,” the group of players that came into contact with Benoit Paire, who tested positive for COVID-19. On her Instagram post, Babos expressed her sadness at the decision by the New York health authorities, while also lamenting the missed opportunity to add to her Grand Slam title haul—the hope of every player.

Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah

Lost in the second round to Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau

Last year, Cabal and Farah won the title in New York, their second Grand Slam triumph in a row after their victory at Wimbledon. When the draw was announced for the US Open this year, it was going to be a tricky proposition for any team: With the field reduced to 32 pairings instead of the usual 64, tough matchups were on tap from the first ball on. “Colombian Power” got past the veterans Jurgen Melzer and Edouard Roger-Vasselin rather comfortably in the first round, but then faced one of the most dangerous floaters in the draw next: Rojer and Tecau.

Cabal and Farah were ousted by the 2017 US Open champions in straight sets, bringing their title defense to a fast stop and demonstrating just how tough the path to the title would be for any team.