Djokovic and Alcaraz placed in different halves of US Open bracket, potential final matchup possible

The U.S. Open draw took place on Thursday, revealing that defending champion Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are positioned on opposite sides of the bracket. This sets the stage for a potential rematch between them in another significant final following their encounters at Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics. Alcaraz, seeded third, may need to navigate a semifinal against top-seeded Jannik Sinner, who was recently involved in a doping case but was cleared due to accidental ingestion of a banned substance.
Coco Gauff, the No. 3 seed and last year’s Grand Slam title winner, will face Varvara Gracheva in her opener. Gauff could potentially meet the second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals, rekindling their previous rivalry from the 2023 final. The U.S. Open is slated to commence on Monday and conclude on September 8.
Djokovic, the men’s record holder with 24 Grand Slam titles, aims to defend his title from last year but has faced setbacks, including an injury at the French Open and a defeat by Alcaraz at Wimbledon. Djokovic triumphed over Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics, claiming his first Olympic gold medal but hasn’t played since. Both Djokovic and Alcaraz will commence their U.S. Open journey against qualifiers from the ongoing tournament in New York.
The women’s draw sees the return of past U.S. Open champions Naomi Osaka and Bianca Andreescu, who might encounter tough challenges in their opening matches. Osaka will face No. 10 seed Jelena Ostapenko, while Andreescu is set to take on No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini. Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open victor, will kick off her campaign against American Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion.
In notable first-round men’s matchups, No. 13 seed Ben Shelton will face 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, who received a wild card for his final Grand Slam appearance before retirement. Lorenzo Musetti, the No. 18 seed, will play against American Reilly Opelka.
The anticipated quarterfinal clashes include Sinner against 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic versus No. 6 Andrey Rublev, Alcaraz against No. 7 Hubert Hurkacz, and Alexander Zverev against Casper Ruud. On the women’s side, potential quarterfinals feature Iga Swiatek against Jessica Pegula, Sabalenka versus Zheng Qinwen, Gauff against Barbora Krejcikova, and Elena Rybakina against Paolini.