Alexander Zverev shrugged off the idea that he is the favourite to win the US Open, claiming the field is as competitive as it could be.

Zverev claimed his first grand slam title at Roland-Garros earlier this year and fell just short of an immediate second as he was beaten in the Wimbledon final by Jannik Sinner.

Heading into the final major of the year, Zverev is the top seed at Flushing Meadows after Sinner's withdrawal due to a knee injury.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz is back in the field, though, having recovered from a wrist injury after being on the sidelines for four months.

According to Opta's predictive model, Alcaraz (13.2%) is the favourite to win the tournament, with Zverev (7.3%) behind him, and the German says he is expecting a tight contest in New York.

"I feel like I'm one of the 128 players that are favourites in the draw," Zverev said.

"I expect [Alcaraz] to be maybe a bit rusty the first or second match, but once he gets through that, I think he's going to be a contender for sure here."

There's some serious history in the bottom half of the men's singles draw pic.twitter.com/Zf0fDJaubO

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026

Ben Shelton, meanwhile, is looking to reach his first grand slam final, having twice reached the final four stage – at the Australian Open and US Open.

He has not made it past the third round in either of the last two years at Flushing Meadows – having to retire at that stage last year due to a shoulder injury.

And while he is hopeful of a stronger run this time around, he also noted Sinner's absence will not make things easier.

"I know how much quality that there is in the draw," Shelton said.

"I think it would be disrespectful to just think 'Oh, there's no Sinner, it's a massive opportunity'.

"All the American guys are pretty dangerous on this surface. I think to kind of discredit the group that is playing high-level tennis right now wouldn't be smart."

Shelton begins his US Open campaign against Tallon Griekspoor on Monday, with Zverev's first match coming against Lorenzo Sonego the following day.