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Barry Cowan: Novak Djokovic worthy of favouritism for the US Open

Image: Barry Cowan: Backing Novak Djokovic to win the 2014 US Open

Sky Sports tennis pundit Barry Cowan is expecting order to be restored at the US Open, with Novak Djokovic his favourite to lift the title.

The world number one suffered back-to-back third-round exits at the Masters events in Toronto and Cincinnati, failing to maintain the momentum from his Wimbledon triumph.

However, Cowan, who is will be raising money for Rally for Bally – a charity set up to support The Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis and the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity - with his Sky Bet Charity Tips, is backing the Serb to rise to the occasion of a Grand Slam.

He said: “Djokovic is my favourite. I didn’t expect him to play as badly as he did recently, and he looked flat and struggled to find the inner reserves that we’ve seen so often from Novak but I think it was kind of understandable.

“A lot has happened for Novak over the last couple of months, having won Wimbledon after losing a lot of high profile matches before that, getting back to world number one and getting married.

“However, form is not that important for Novak because the last big match he played was the Wimbledon final and, if he gets through the opening week, which I certainly expect him to do, he will be focused in the latter stages of the tournament.

“I’m going for Djokovic to beat Federer in the final. If Djokovic does lose before the final then Federer, for me, will win it.

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“However, if they do meet in the final, with the history they have, most recently at Wimbledon, Djokovic will be the heavy favourite to win it.”

<strong>Agree with Barry? Find his Sky Bet Charity Tips here.</strong>

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