"Tough to not pick Novak Djokovic" - Daniil Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios, Andrey Rublev & others predict winners of the North American hardcourt swing

Tennis players recently made picks about who would have the best hard-court season this year, with most of them going for Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev.

The hard-court tennis season is back again, with the US Open, the last Major of the year, fast approaching. In a recent interview with the ATP, some men's tennis players gave their opinion on who was likely to have the most success on the surface in the second part of 2023.

Daniil Medvedev said he was hoping to be the most successful himself, before throwing Novak Djokovic's name into the mix too.

"I hope it could be me, but if not, you always have to say Novak just because he's amazing," Medvedev said.

The Russian wasn't the only one to pick Novak Djokovic, the 23-time Grand Slam champion who has already won two Grand Slam titles this season.

"I mean, he just won his 23rd Grand Slam, you know. He's leading in that category and he's the favorite one there," said Hubert Hurkacz, who lost to Djokovic in the fourth round at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

Andrey Rublev gave the nod to Daniil Medvedev, but he used a different name for his compatriot.

"Octopus. Mr. Octopus," Rublev kept saying, despite the interviewer trying to get him to say Medvedev's name out loud.

Felix Auger-Aliassime also picked World No. 3 Medvedev, but Jannik Sinner, who also recently lost to Djokovic at Wimbledon like Hurkacz, went with the Serb.

"It's tough to not pick Novak. I think also Carlos (Alcaraz) and Holger (Rune)," Sinner stated.

Nick Kyrgios was the only one in the interview to pick Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek has never gone past the third round at the US Open, but after reaching the final of the Australian Open, 2023 could well be his year in the USA as well.

"I think (Stefanos) Tsitsipas has got a good chance to do well in the hard court season," Kyrgios said.

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Novak Djokovic wishes Tom Brady a happy birthday

Tom Brady and Novak Djokovic at the 2023 French Open

Novak Djokovic recently wished legendary NFL player Tom Brady a happy birthday. Brady turned 46 on August 4.

The American was recently seen in Djokovic's player box at the 2023 French Open, where the Serb won the title by defeating Casper Ruud in straight sets.

Djokovic shared a photograph of himself and Brady in Paris.

"Happy birthday legend," Djokovic captioned the photo.

Tom Brady was one of the people the 36-year-old hugged when he won his 23rd Major title in Paris.