The qualifiers for the U.S. Open tipped off this Thursday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens, New York. The tournament proper begins on Monday, with plenty of intriguing storylines worth tracking.
The U.S. Open’s official Twitter/X account revealed the draw for the men’s singles portion of the event, tennis’ last Grand Slam of the season.
Will world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz win his third Grand Slam of the year?
The 21-year-old wunderkind out of Spain has had an eventful 2024 already. He claimed his first French Open, his second Wimbledon trophy, and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Will world No. 2 Novak Djokovic claim his first major in 2024?
Although the 37-year-old did win his first (and, likely, last) Olympic gold medal against Alcaraz this year, Djokovic has yet to win a Grand Slam event in 2024.
Read More: Novak Djokovic Sets Olympic Record in Winning Gold Medal vs Carlos Alcaraz
Somewhat snakebit by a medial meniscus tear in his right knee midway through the season, the Serbian superstar is in jeopardy of failing to nab at least one Grand Slam for the first time since his last injury-plagued season, 2017.
Djokovic won last year’s U.S. Open, his fourth overall, over Daniil Medvedev in straight sets. He holds the record for most men’s Grand Slam singles championships, with 24, and is looking to extend that sum in New York.
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain shakes hands at the net after his straight sets victory against Alexander Zverev of Germany during their Men’s Singles Quarterfinal match on Day Ten of the 2023 US Open at the… Carlos Alcaraz of Spain shakes hands at the net after his straight sets victory against Alexander Zverev of Germany during their Men’s Singles Quarterfinal match on Day Ten of the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 06, 2023 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Both players look to be major contenders this year again.
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Will world No. 1 Jannik Sinner win his second Grand Slam of the year and a whopping sixth tournament title?
After ousting Medvedev in a five-set slugfest Australian Open final, the 23-year-old Italian earned his first Grand Slam and lapped Djokovic to become the No. 1-ranked player on the planet for the first time.
Sinner has been in the news for less happy reasons of late. News broke that he had twice tested positive for having trace amounts of the banned anabolic steroid Clostebol during the Indian Wells tournament in March, but will not be penalized.
Read More: World’s Top-Ranked Tennis Player Tests Positive for Steroids Ahead of US Open
World No. 5 Medvedev, former three-time Grand Slam champ Stanislaw Wawrinka and former Tour Finals champ Stefanos Tsitsipas are the biggest known commodities in Sinner’s quarter draw.
Alcaraz could find himself squaring off against world No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz or world No. 10 Alex De Minaur in his own bracket.
No. 4-ranked Alexander Zverev could have to do battle against No. 8-ranked Casper Ruud (a finalist at the U.S. Open in 2022), No. 12-ranked Taylor Fritz, or No. 15-ranked Holger Rune. Zverev reached the U.S. Open finals in 2020, and has won a pair of Tour championships and one gold medal, but has yet to win a Grand Slam.
Djokovic, meanwhile, may need to best No. 6-ranked Andrey Rublev, who has never made it past the quarters in this tournament, or No. 9-ranked Grigor Dimitrov, who hasn’t reached the semifinals — his best finish — since 2019, to advance out of his comparably easier bracket.
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