US Open 2018: Rafael Nadal, Not Novak Djokovic, Backed As Favorite

US Open defending champion Rafael Nadal is still the favorite at Flushing Meadows for some, despite Novak Djokovic's recent form.

Since Djokovic emerged victorious at Wimbledon last month, notably beating Nadal in the semifinals en route, bookmakers have given him the best odds of winning the US Open which commences Monday.

Winning the Cincinnati Masters by defeating Roger Federer in the final earlier this month only further strengthened Djokovic's case, with certain fans and some from the tennis world picking him as the outright favorite.

Nadal though, given the second-best odds of winning a second consecutive US Open with Federer in third, is still the favorite for some.

The Spaniard recently won the Rogers Cup in Toronto with ease before skipping Cincinnati, and former doubles player Patrick McEnroe believes the factors leading up to the final Grand Slam of the year play to his advantage, especially if he meets Djokovic in the final.

"A lot of people are saying (Novak) Djokovic is the favourite," McEnroe said, according to Tennis World USA. "I actually still think Nadal is the favourite, and he’s my pick to win it. I think he played well in Canada. He’s fresh coming in. I think he was smart to miss Cincinnati. Certainly one of the matches of the year was the semi-final loss in Wimbledon to Novak."

"But I think a hard court is a better surface for Rafa. Obviously Djokovic is awesome on hard court, too. The fact that they played so close at Wimbledon where I think Djokovic is definitely a better grass court player than Rafa, and I think Rafa is going to be incredibly motivated to win it because he sees that he can run down Roger (Federer) in overall majors. Not to mention the fact he wants to keep Djokovic at bay," he added.

US Open women's singles champion Sloane Stephens also believes Nadal is the favorite, even going on to say that the 17-time Grand Slam winner "is going to win the tournament" in last week's drawing ceremony.

Nadal will be helped by a favorable draw as well. The 32-year-old will kick off his campaign Monday against fellow compatriot David Ferrer, but did not pay too much attention to the draw, especially with Federer and Djokovic on the same side, both of whom could meet in the quarterfinals.

"We were in the Davis Cup team a lot of times, here too. He’s [Ferrer] a good friend," Nadal said, reacting to the draw. "He has been an amazing player for such a long, long time. This year he’s going through tougher times but he’s still a player with a very high level of tennis. I’m looking forward to playing that match so we’ll see."

"I don’t go crazy about the draw. I really don’t care. I understand it’s luck. At the end of the day, you will face your opponent," he said.

Meanwhile, Djokovic faces Hungary's Marton Fucsovics on Tuesday while Federer faces Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka later that night.