R Madhavan Predicts US Open 2026 Men's Singles Winner
Indian movie star R Madhavan was in attendance at the US Open 2026, witnessing one of his favourite players, Alexander Zverev, breeze through to the men's singles semi-finals
Indian movie star R Madhavan was in attendance at the US Open 2026, witnessing one of his favourite players, Alexander Zverev, breeze through to the men's singles semi-finals. Madhavan discussed what makes the US Open special, his prediction for the men's singles title winner, and the tennis player whose life he'd want to portray on screen. Speaking in an interview shared by JioStar, R Madhavan opened up about what sparked his interest in tennis:
"My dad used to play tennis. We lived in a small town in India, Jamshedpur. The happy time with the family was when Dad took us to the tennis court and played. I would look at him and see a smile on my father's face that I had never seen before. He was the happiest when he was playing tennis, so I have great memories of that, and I think he'd be mighty proud of me, actually. Apart from all my achievements, he'd be like, 'What, you went to the US Open? Fabulous.' It's been a great year for me because I was at the Masters earlier this year, and now I'm here."
On what makes the US Open special:
"The fact that it's obviously one of the Grand Slams, and there's an ease about the whole tournament. Everybody's dressed very cool. Winning it in America is another deal altogether. US Open is fun, and I think winning here is more of a celebration."
On the Carlos Alcaraz-Ben Shelton match and his prediction for the US Open 2026 men's singles winner:
"I missed the match of matches; everybody's talking about it, but those guys were just monsters. I don't know how they managed for five hours, and what a huge upset. The sheer grit that Shelton showed was extraordinary, which means there will be an American in the final. And I know the Americans don't want to hear it, but I think Zverev is going to win it."
On who he considers the greatest tennis player:
"Federer will be number one for me. I like his attitude. But I'm also a huge fan of Alexander Zverev. He's diabetic, and he's made people with diabetes not look as uncool anymore, which is phenomenal. Hats off to him. He takes care of himself in the middle of the court, in the middle of the game, and I think that's phenomenal."
On which tennis player he'd want to star as in a biopic and whom he'd like as a co-star in a film:
"The fun of them all, John McEnroe. I think he is fully movie material. A tennis player as a co-star? Steffi Graf. There is a video of a fan asking her, 'Will you marry me?' and she says, 'How much money do you have?' in the middle of the match. It was phenomenal. Great presence of mind!"
Watch Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov and Ben Shelton vs Frances Tiafoe in the US Open Men's Singles Semi-Finals, on September 12, 12:30 AM onwards, LIVE on JioHotstar and Star Sports Network