Wimbledon Tennis 2018 Men's Final: Early US Open Predictions for Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic finally won his first Grand Slam since 2016 on Sunday, beating Kevin Anderson in straight sets in the Wimbledon final and setting himself up for success for the rest of the year.

The Serb beat his opponent 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in a fairly routine win for Djokovic. He had to dig much deeper in the semi-finals against Rafael Nadal, who will likely be one of his main rivals in this year's U.S. Open.

As you can see, it's usually a fair bet to back Djokovic, Nadal or Roger Federer in Grand Slams:

The 31-year-old Djokovic struggled with injury last year but has steadily improved throughout 2018. He made it to the fourth round in Melbourne before bowing out of the French Open in the quarter-finals.

The quarter-final run in Paris was a solid result given his struggles in 2017 and the fact the French Open has traditionally been his least successful Grand Slam:

While Nadal is a clay specialist and Federer dominated the lawn tournaments for years, the standard hard court has always been Djokovic's preferred surface. It's no coincidence he has five ATP Finals titles under his belt, including four in a row between 2012 and 2015.

As shared by tennis writer Jose Morgado, the win in London put him back inside the ATP top 10 and on track for a Finals appearance:

But while Djokovic tends to do well on hard court, he has somewhat surprisingly won just two titles at Flushing Meadows, with the most recent coming in 2015.

Despite his limited success in New York―especially compared to the Australian Open, a tournament he has won six times―Djokovic expects big things:

Andy Murray is expected to return from injury ahead of the U.S. Open, adding another top name to the list of contenders, but Djokovic's struggles upon his return from injury show just how hard it can be to rediscover your form. The Brit will be one to keep an eye on, but Djokovic shouldn't fear him at this point.

Federer and Nadal split last year's Grand Slams and the first two of this year as well, so naturally, they'll be among the favourites―if they're healthy. All three impressed in London, so there's no reason to doubt their form heading into the back end of the season.

In both of Djokovic's title-winning years in Flushing Meadows―2011 and 2015―he entered the tournament having won Wimbledon as well. That's a good sign for the Serb, who finally seems himself again.

Prediction: Djokovic performs well at the U.S. Open, advancing to the semi-final or better.