Novak Djokovic will never have a better opportunity to achieve a historic calendar Grand Slam, which former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash says he should prioritise at all costs.
The Serbian won a sixth Wimbledon crown on Sunday, defeating Matteo Berrettini in four sets to achieve a final victory that moved him on to 20 grand slam titles.
With Australian Open and French Open successes also already achieved, glory at the US Open would see Djokovic become only the second men's player in Open Era history to win all four majors in the same year.
Cash thinks the stars have aligned for Djokovic, with issues for his main rivals leaving the 34-year-old primed to achieve the famous feat in 2021.
"The impossible dream really is there," Cash said to Stats Perform.
"For Novak this year it is a great opportunity for him to grab a bunch of grand slams and grab all the titles.
"Certainly Wimbledon – without disrespecting the other players – was one of the weaker men's side draws that I've seen in many, many years.
"And that's because we've got two of the big stars coming back from injuries – Andy Murray and Roger Federer – who played well but weren't at the peak of their career.
"The younger players are coming through but they're not quite there yet and Novak is just sitting on top of that mountain as the King of the Castle.
"His performance was exceptional at Wimbledon, there's no doubts about it.
"The slightly younger players are coming through – Berrettini obviously in the final really pushed him to just about the limit.
"Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final up two sets to love. So, these guys are close, very close, and it won't be long before they catch up with Novak and the others.
"Obviously Rafa [Nadal] was out of this Wimbledon as well – I don't really think he's a serious threat on the grass anymore but he's still a great competitor.
"So these guys are catching up, Rafa is still there, maybe Murray will come back and Federer will come back and be in better shape in the next year – but this is the year that Novak can really grab."
Djokovic admitted this week he is still "50/50" over whether he will take part in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics due to coronavirus countermeasures in the Japanese capital.
Federer withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday and Cash insists Tokyo will not be the priority over glory in New York for Djokovic.
Cash added: "It's the Olympics, okay – maybe he wants to do that, but certainly his goal is now to try and win all four grand slams in the calendar year.
"He has done four in a row, but he hasn't done them in the same year, which is very, very tough to do.
"There is a reason why I think one person has done it in [men's] professional tennis – Rod Laver and it was in 1969, so it's not easy to do.
"But I really do think it's in his sights and that has got to be his priority.
"It's absolutely the absolute peak of our sport to win all four grand slams in one year."
With Djokovic now level with Federer and Nadal on 20 majors, Cash would not be surprised to see him build a big lead.
He added: "Look, it's very hard to say. We have all been proven wrong by the numbers.
"Though most of us thought that Rafa and Novak would get pretty close to Federer, we didn't really think they'd get there and beyond.
"I think Novak is likely to win another couple, but you know, it takes us one little injury [to derail him] so it is very hard to say.
"John McEnroe said 25 or so [for Djokovic] and that could be well within his reach at the moment.
"He's improving and that's frightening to think. He's won 19 grand slams before Wimbledon, and all of a sudden we've seen this guy come to the net, volley, add another string to his bow to become a better player.
"Yeah, age 34 and he is improving – that's pretty frightening."
Alcaraz downs Bagnis in Miami opener, Zverev knocked out by wild card
World number one Carlos Alcaraz wasted no time in advancing to the Miami Open third round with a straight-sets win over Facundo Bagnis in just 64 minutes, while 13th seed Alexander Zverev suffered an early exit on Friday.
Reigning US Open champion Alcaraz eased past Bagnis 6-0 6-2, firing 12 winners and three aces for the match, committing only 11 unforced errors.
The Spaniard won the first set in 24 minutes, marking the first time he has won an opening frame 6-0 at an ATP Masters 100 event. It was also the first bagel he has dished out since beating Bagnis in Umag last year.
"I knew that I needed to be focused for my first match," Alcaraz said after his win, having triumphed in Indian Wells last week. "To start a new tournament is never easy, different conditions.
"I have to be ready to get used to these new conditions, but I was really focused on the match from the beginning, and I'm happy with the way that I played. I try to improve every day."
Alcaraz will face Dusan Lajovic after he beat 30th seed Maxime Cressy 6-4 7-6 (7-2), having knocked off Andy Murray in the first round.
Zverev was the highest seed to bow out on Friday, going down 6-0 6-4 to Japan's Taro Daniel, who beat world number four Casper Ruud last month in Acapulco.
Daniel triumphed in 73 minutes against the German, hitting 17 winners and committing only two unforced errors for the match, while Zverev gave up 18.
The Japanese wild card will meet Emil Ruusuvuori in the third round after the Finn beat 22nd seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to open up that section of the draw.
Third seed Ruud also had few problems getting past Ilya Ivashka 6-2 6-3 to set up a clash with Botic van de Zandschulp after his three-set win over Alexei Popyrin.
Sixth seed Andrey Rublev overcame J.J. Wolf 7-6 (7-3) 6-4, having been broken in the opening game of what was a tight contest.
Jannik Sinner beat Laslo Djere 6-4 6-2, marking his 16th win out of 20 appearances at the Sunshine Double (Indian Wells and Miami), with only three other players – Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz – having as many wins within their first 20 matches.
Ninth seed Taylor Fritz defeated fellow American Emilio Nava 6-4 6-1, and will face Denis Shapovalov in round three after he beat Guido Pella 6-3 3-6 6-3.
American 16th seed Tommy Paul came from a set down to beat Marc-Andrea Huesler 5-7 6-3 6-4, while seventh seed Holger Rune beat Martin Fucsovics 6-3 7-5.
Jabeur, Garcia and Sakkari suffer shock Miami Open losses as Sabalenka eases through
Top 10 seeds Ons Jabeur, Caroline Garcia and Maria Sakkari were all eliminated in a day of upsets in the Miami Open second round on Friday.
Qualifier Varvara Gracheva earned her first career top-five win by beating 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finalist Jabeur 6-2 6-2 in only 67 minutes.
Fifth seed Caroline Garcia also crashed out, losing 6-2 6-3 to 74th-ranked Sorana Cirstea, having also recently beaten the Frenchwoman at Indian Wells.
Bianca Andreescu came from a set down to beat seventh seed Maria Sakkari 5-7 6-3 6-4 in a match that lasted over three hours.
Andreescu displayed some of the form that saw her lift the 2019 US Open title, fighting back from a set down and proving composed in the big moments.
The Canadian, who is ranked 31st, will take on 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin in the third round.
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka had few problems against Shelby Rogers, winning 6-4 6-3 in one hour and 17 minutes. Sabalenka will next face 31st seed Marie Bouzkova.
The 2023 Australian Open champion has won 65 main draw matches in WTA-1000 events, which equals Marion Bartoli and Ashleigh Barty at the 30th place since 2009 for the most wins at this level.
Indian Wells winner Elena Rybakina beat Anna Kalinskaya 7-5 4-6 6-3, and Petra Kvitova eased past compatriot Linda Noskova 6-3 6-0.
Ninth seed Belinda Bencic dropped just two games as she cruised past Leylah Fernandez 6-1 6-1, and will face Ekaterina Alexandrova next as the 18th seed needed three to get past Taylor Townsend.
Veronika Kudermetova was eliminated by Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 6-2, who goes up against Karolina Pliskova in round three after she eased past Wang Xinyu in straight sets.
Sweden 0-3 Belgium: Lukaku hat-trick gets Tedesco tenure off to flying start
Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick as Belgium kicked off a new era under Domenico Tedesco with a 3-0 win over Sweden on Friday in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.
The Red Devils replaced Roberto Martinez with Tedesco after exiting the World Cup at the group stage, while a number of big names also retired from international football.
Tedesco's tenure got off to a flying start at Friends Arena in Stockholm, where Lukaku's header and a close-range finish either side of half-time had the visitors in control.
Sweden brought on 41-year-old striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Lukaku completed his treble in the 82nd minute to round off a comfortable victory.
Dejan Kulusevski almost gave Sweden the lead when his shot trickled towards goal after Thibaut Courtois got a hand to it, only for Wout Faes to clear off the line.
It was the visitors who opened the scoring 10 minutes before the interval when Dodi Lukebakio's right-sided cross was glanced in by the head of Lukaku.
The on-loan Inter striker doubled his tally with a tap-in from a yard out after Lukebakio burst into the box, got away from his man and once again picked out his team-mate.
Sweden struggled to ask any real questions of Courtois, despite the introduction of Ibrahimovic, and Lukaku made certain of the win when given a simple finish by Johan Bakayoko.
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