Former Davis Cup champion criticizes the level at the 2025 US Open and says it ‘isn’t very high' (2025)

Just six players remain in the 2025 US Open men’s singles draw, fighting for the title.

One of Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur, or Felix Auger-Aliassime will lift the US Open title on Sunday.

Winning their quarterfinal matches, Alcaraz and Djokovic advanced to the semis on Tuesday.

De Minaur and Auger-Aliassime are still to play their quarterfinal, as are Sinner and Musetti.

There’s plenty to look forward to at Flushing Meadows, although one former Davis Cup champion hasn’t been too impressed with the quality shown at this year’s tournament.

Paolo Bertolucci says the level at the 2025 US Open ‘isn’t very high’ compared to previous years

During the latest episode of ‘La Telefonata’, 1976 Davis Cup champion Paolo Bertolucci gave his verdict on the level at this year’s US Open.

“I’ll tell you my opinion, though: honestly, the level of the US Open this year isn’t very high,” he said.

“If you take away those two aliens [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz, the level behind is low for both the men’s and women’s.

“Once upon a time, in addition to those four phenomena of [Roger] Federer, [Rafael] Nadal, [Novak] Djokovic, and [Andy] Murray, you had others who pushed so hard and were talented and of a high level.

“Today, however, you struggle to get to four.”

Bertolucci may have a point, as during the era of the ‘Big Three’, the likes of Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, David Ferrer, and Juan Marin del Potro all found themselves making deep runs at major tournaments on a regular basis.

In 2025, there appears to be a lack of consistency among the top ten players on the ATP Tour.

Except for Alcaraz, Sinner, and Novak Djokovic, each of the seven other top-ten players has suffered at least one early exit at a Grand Slam this year.

With the gap seemingly widening between Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic, and the rest of the ATP Tour, many have been left questioning whether anyone can put an end to their reign of Grand Slam dominance.

The Grand Slam dominance of the ‘new’ Big Three

Alcaraz, Sinner, and Djokovic have shared the previous 13 major titles between themselves, a run that stretches back to Wimbledon in 2022.

• 2022 Wimbledon – Novak Djokovic
• 2022 US Open – Carlos Alcaraz
• 2023 Australian Open – Novak Djokovic
• 2023 French Open – Novak Djokovic
• 2023 Wimbledon – Carlos Alcaraz
• 2023 US Open – Novak Djokovic
• 2024 Australian Open – Jannik Sinner
• 2024 French Open – Carlos Alcaraz
• 2024 Wimbledon – Carlos Alcaraz
• 2024 US Open – Jannik Sinner
• 2025 Australian Open – Jannik Sinner
• 2025 French Open – Carlos Alcaraz
• 2025 Wimbledon – Jannik Sinner

That’s not to say they haven’t met plenty of challengers, as nine players reached Grand Slam finals during this period.

Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and Casper Ruud have all contested multiple major finals since 2022, but none of the trio emerged victorious [0-6].

Of the players remaining in this year’s US Open draw, few are backing Auger-Aliassime, Musetti, or De Minaur to pick up the title, so who else is out there who can disrupt the status quo on the ATP Tour?

Some fans have high hopes for Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca, who has picked up several memorable Grand Slam wins this year, defeating Andrey Rublev in Melbourne and Hubert Hurkacz in Paris.

The likelihood is, however, that the 19-year-old is still a few years away from challenging the very best players in the men’s game week in, week out.

Therefore, tennis fans could become used to seeing Sinner, Alcaraz, and Djokovic continue to pick up Grand Slam titles at will for the foreseeable future.