Kevin Durant picks home favourite Coco Graff to triumph at US Open as World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz falls in the semis

NBA superstar Kevin Durant picked hometown bet Coco Gauff and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain to win the 2023 U.S. Open.

But while the Phoenix Suns forward’s pick of Gauff is still much in play, that of Alcaraz was quashed after the latter was eliminated in the semifinals.

Kevin Durant made his picks known when he visited the GQ office in New York.

The 13-time NBA All-Star said:

“I want to see a little tennis today and tomorrow. Coco Gauff the win. And Alcaraz the win.”

World No. 6 Gauff kept his hopes of winning her first-ever Grand Slam tournament when she defeated No.10-ranked Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic in straight sets, 6-7 7-5, in the semifinals.

The win set the 19-year-old American up against world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who had to go through the wringer in her semifinal match versus Madison Keys of the United States.

Alcaraz, for his part, saw his quest of winning back-to-back U.S. Open titles come to an end when he bowed to Russian world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in four sets in the semifinals, 6-7,1-6, 6-3, 3-6.

Medvedev will face 23-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the finals.

Kevin Durant, meanwhile, is busy preparing for the upcoming NBA season, his 17th in the league.

In Phoenix, he has found himself in another ‘Big 3’ with NBA All-Star Bradley Beal deciding in the summer to join him and Devin Booker at the Valley of the Suns.

Kevin Durant was traded to the Suns midway last season, but an ankle injury limited him to just eight games in the regular season.

He, however, still posted solid numbers of 26 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 blocks and helped the team reach the playoffs as the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

In the playoffs, the Suns reached the conference semifinals where they lost to eventual NBA champions Denver Nuggets in six games. In his 11 games in the playoffs, Durant had averages of 29 points, 8.7 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.4 blocks.

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How many rings does Kevin Durant have?

Kevin Durant has two championship rings, which he won while playing for the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018. The titles were won at the expense of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers each time.

The 2017 title came immediately after the Warriors acquired free-agent Durant in the offseason, forming a formidable core that also included fellow All-Stars Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson. Durant scored an average of 35 points per game in the finals, the most for any player in the series. He also won the MVP Award. The Warriors won the series, 4-1.

In 2018, the Warriors remained a top team with Durant in tow. He won the NBA Finals MVP for the second year in a row. The Warriors won the series 4-0. He scored an average of 28.8 points per game to go along with 10.8 rebounds.

Watch Kevin Durant’s epic Game Three performance in the 2018 NBA Finals here:

The Warriors were working on a third straight title in 2019 but an Achilles injury to Kevin Durant made it tougher for the team, leading it to bow down to the Toronto Raptors in the finals, 2-4.