Carlos Alcaraz and the rest of the ATP Tour have now learned their US Open fates.
The draw has been revealed.
It is a day that fans and players alike mark in their calendars, with the latter keen to see whom they will be facing first on their path to hopeful glory.
For the Spaniard, it feels as though the start of his draw is arguably more important than the end, given how he tends to start most tournaments slowly.
Well, he will be forced into a fast start here at the US Open, with his brutal draw having now emerged.
Carlos Alcaraz’s projected path to the US Open final
In the very first round, the 22-year-old will have the pleasure of facing the big-serving Reilly Opelka in front of his home crowd.
Admittedly, the second and third rounds are far kinder, before Daniil Medvedev is likely to await Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round.
A former champion and a finalist as recently as 2023, if he can find form once again, the Russian can be a problem in New York.
Ben Shelton could then be ready to face him in the quarter-finals, reignited from his Canadian Open triumph and keen to claim a scalp.
Then, one of Taylor Fritz or Novak Djokovic will be hungry to avenge recent defeats, before his great rival, Jannik Sinner, will inevitably be waiting in the final.
It’s a truly horrific draw for the 2021 champion.
All the fun and games from the mixed doubles are well and truly over, just days after it was revealed how Emma Raducanu and Alcaraz’s doubles partnership was formed.
Carlos Alcaraz finally given a tough draw at a Grand Slam
Although it’s not something that fans will want to see, it will be interesting to watch Alcaraz try to navigate this significantly tougher US Open draw.
After all, at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, few can deny the favours he received with some of the players he had to face.
He did not play a seed at the French Open until the fourth round, where he swept aside Shelton, before then bludgeoning an injury-struck Tommy Paul.
Then, Lorenzo Musetti had to withdraw in the semi-finals.
Similarly at the All-England Club, he struggled early against a retiring Fabio Fognini, and faced just one seed before reaching the semi-finals, where he admittedly upped his game just before losing to Jannik Sinner in the final.
He will have to be firing from the first round here in New York, or else be at risk of another early exit.
