It takes major clout to upstage a World Cup football final in New York, but Grand Slam serial winners Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic did just that.The popular Spanish No 1, sidelined since withdrawing from the Madrid Masters and missing three Majors, including Wimbledon this year, has undergone surgery on his right wrist, yet this didn’t deter him from carrying the gold and malachite World Cup trophy into the MetLife Stadium for the Spanish football team to jubilantly lift in turn, post victory over Argentina.This further sparked hope that Alcaraz is also in town to participate in the forthcoming US Open. As much debate raged around the Spaniard’s physical status as that of his compatriots toiling in the noonday sun to win the coveted World Cup.Were the former No 1 to play at Flushing Meadow — and it remains a big if — he would be seeded third, behind French Open champion Alexander Zverev.This means Alcaraz would be vulnerable to big names much earlier in the tournament than usual. With so little practice under his belt, whether he launches in Cincinnati, before the US Open, where he has mega ranking points to defend as defending champion, he’s unlikely to be the favourite to clinch the New York Slam. Novak Djokovic celebrates after winning his second round match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. (Marko Djurica) Meanwhile, Djokovic took full advantage of the star-studded lineup at the World Cup final for the first global launch of his documentary The Wolf In Winter at the Museum of Modern Art with a list of A-listers, including John McEnroe and Mike Tyson, in attendance.Further afield in Switzerland, at the Gstaad Open, former world No 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas was also making waves. The Greek has been languishing in the doldrums, with his ranking plummeting to the mid-60s and the on/off coaching saga with his father, Apostolos, forever under the microscope. One forgets Tsitsipas was the youngest player to beat Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, respectively, and to win an ATP final, before the age of 21. Thus, he was another top player, like Zverev, earmarked to win a Major. That hasn’t happened. Yet, Tsitsipas has turned a corner and catapulted himself up 34 spots in the rankings, to No 51, by dismissing Belgian Raphael Collignon to win the Gstaad title, showing backbone in having to play four consecutive three-setters.This is attributed to the Greek recently having drawn a line under his father’s partnership and taken on a new coach, Thomas Perrin, from the Mouratoglou Academy — with Patrick Mouratoglou of Serena Williams fame as an advisor. This combination appears to be working, given this is the first trophy Tsitsipas has lifted without dad as coach.That said, one cannot read too much into this reset, considering the Greek star had a brief coaching spell with former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic last year, which lasted only two months before he dumped the Croat and returned to his father. One can only hope that Perrin encourages the Greek to move forward on the court where once upon a time he dominated the net like Roger Federer.A current youngster, who loves the net and demonstrated volleying skills in reaching the Wimbledon semis as a wild card, is Britain’s Arthur Fery, who will be receiving a direct entry — his first — into the US Open due to his unforeseen feat. One can only hope that Perrin encourages the Greek to move forward on the court where once upon a time he dominated the net like Roger Federer.Fery too has shot up the rankings from No 189 into the top 40, a big feather in his cap. Whether his success on grass will translate onto hard courts remains to be seen. However, he has already surpassed countryman Jack Draper and former top 10 Grigor Dimitrov at the starting gates, in that neither Draper nor Dimitrov has maintained a high enough ranking to gain entry into the main draw. Indeed, they are going to have to either play the qualifying rounds or beg for a wild card, for which Americans typically receive priority. While injuries have dramatically curtailed their progress, a US Open minus Draper or Dimitrov — or Alcaraz for that matter — equates to a seriously depleted lineup.Other players leapfrogging up the rankings are Daniel Merida, who admirably rose 23 spots to No 59 to become the youngest champion this decade in Croatia, following in the hefty footsteps of Nadal and world No 1 Jannik Sinner.And still on European clay, world No 427, Tiago Torres, thrilled local fans with his maiden matador-style ATP win in Estoril, Spain. With the focus on these next-gen players, one should likewise celebrate that the WTA Tour has two aggressive teenagers, Victoria Mboko and Mira Andreeva, in the top 12. Andreeva recently beat the Austrian Anastasia Potapova to bag the Linz Trophy, continuing her upward trend after winning her first Major at Roland Garros. Sadly Mboko hasn’t recovered from a bad fall at Queens Club and will not be on the US Open entry list. Instead, 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu is set to throw away her crutches and return to the Flushing Meadows fray. There will be little expectation she can repeat her previous qualifying triumph.