US OPEN DRAW: Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz on semi-final collision course
Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the semi-finals of the US Open with the Spaniards in the much tougher half of the men’s draw.
Nadal, who has won two of the three Grand Slams so far this season, will open his campaign against Austrian Rinky Hijkata. Andrey Rublev, Cameron Norrie, Denis Shapovalov, Holger Rune, Frances Tiafoe and Diego Schwatzman are also in his quarter.
Alcaraz arguably has an even tougher quarter. The teenager, who is bidding for his maiden major, will play tricky German Oscar Otte in the first round.
It’s unlikely to get any easier for him from there either, with fellow top youngsters Lorenzo Musetti and Jannik Sinner in his quarter, as well as Cincinnati Masters champion Borna Coric and US Open winner Marin Cilic.
World number one and defending champion Daniil Medvedev also won’t be counting himself especially lucky in the US Open draw. Stefan Kozlov is his first-round opponent, but Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios is a potential fourth round foe. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Dominic Thiem are also in this section of the draw.
The remaining quarter is a very interesting one. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud are the headline seeds in it, but the quarter is replete with dangerous dark horses.
#USOpen – Men’s Singles draw: pic.twitter.com/q1vD78oq2k
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) August 25, 2022
Andy Murray and Matteo Berrettini are in this section. Murray will face Francisco Cerundolo in the first round and could run into Berrettini in round three. Another former winner, Stan Wawrinka is also in Tsitsipas’ quarter, as well as American number one Taylor Fritz.
The tournament starts on Monday 28 August and won’t feature Novak Djokovic, who pulled out on Thursday due to travel restrictions.
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