(New York) Félix Auger-Aliassime will face Czech Jakub Mensik in the first round and could cross paths with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner a few rounds later, we learned Thursday following the draw for the US Open tennis tournament.
Auger-Aliassime, the 19e The tournament’s top seed, has a 1-0 career record against Mensik, 64e world number one, after beating him in the third round of the Madrid Masters earlier this year. The 22-year-old Quebecer finds himself in the same portion of the draw as Sinner.
For his part, Ontario’s Denis Shapovalov will have to face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp from the start, a player he beat in their only previous duel, in Indian Wells earlier in 2024.
For their part, defending champion Novak Djokovic and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz have ended up in opposite sides of the men’s main draw, meaning they could face off again in the final – as they did at Wimbledon or the Paris Olympics.
Before that, Alvaraz, the third seed, could have to overcome Sinner in the semi-finals, who was recently cleared in a sports doping scandal.
Among the other intriguing first-round matchups is the one between No. 13e top seed Ben Shelton, an American who reached the semi-finals last year, and 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem, who has received an invitation from the organisers for the final major tournament of his illustrious career.
The 18e Top seed Lorenzo Musetti, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon and won bronze in singles at the Olympics against Auger-Aliassime, will face American Reilly Opelka.
Potential quarterfinal matchups could pit Sinner against 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic against sixth seed Andrey Rublev, Alcaraz against seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz, and 2020 runner-up Alexander Zverev against 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud.
A big test for Andreescu
In the women’s race, Quebecer Leylah Annie Fernandez will face Russian Anastasia Potapova, 43, in the first round.e in the world. The 21-year-old from Laval has an unblemished 4-0 career record against Potapova, having beaten her in Madrid and Strasbourg earlier this season.
For her part, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu will have a challenge in the first round as she will have to face fifth-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini. The 2019 US Open champion has lost both of her career matches against Paolini – at the French Open and then at Wimbledon this year.
Coco Gauff, who won her first career major title in New York last year, will be the third seed and will face Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva in the first round. Gauff and second seed Aryna Sabalenka could face off in the semifinals, having previously met in the final in 2023.
Other first-round matchups to watch include 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu and 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin of the United States.
In the quarter-finals, Swiatek could face sixth seed Jessica Pegula, Sabalenka could face Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen, Gauff could face two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova, and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan could face Paolini.
The U.S. Open will begin Monday and end September 8.
With contributions from Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press