US Open: Medvedev starts with Kozlov, Nadal gets Hijikata; Serena meets Kovinic

The US Open singles draw for both men’s and women’s are out and top-ranked Daniil Medvedev will start his campaign against American Stefan Kozlov. 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal will lock horns with Australian Rinky Hijikata in his opening match at the Flushing Meadows.

The US Tennis Association unveiled the draw for the final Grand Slam of the year earlier on Thursday. The tournament starts from Monday in New York.

Nadal is vying for his fifth US Open title. The Spaniard could meet Britain’s Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals, and youngster Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, in the final four.

Meanwhile, Medvedev, the defending champion could face fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals and Canadian sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals.

Potential men’s quarterfinals are Medvedev vs. No. 6 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. No. 5 Casper Ruud in what would be a matchup between the past two French Open runners-up, Nadal vs. No. 7 Cam Norrie, and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz vs. No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz.

Also Read | The top draws: Who are the favourites at the US Open?

Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios, who is seeded No. 23, could meet Medvedev in the fourth round. In the first round, Kyrgios will play his fellow Australian, good friend and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams’ first opponent at what is expected to be the last tournament of her career, the US Open, will be Danka Kovinic. Win that, and Williams could face No. 2 seed Anett Kontaveit of Estonia in the second round.

The 23-time Grand Slam champion, who turns 41 on September 26, announced this month she was preparing to step away from her playing career. She did not explicitly say when she planned to stop but made it sound as if the US Open would mark her farewell.

Williams has won the hard-court tournament in Flushing Meadows six times.

Kovinic is a 27-year-old from Montenegro who is 80th in the WTA rankings this week and has been as high as 46th. Williams and Kovinic have never played each other in singles.

Other possible opponents for Williams, should she progress through the tournament, include No. 27 seed Martina Trevisan of Italy in the third round and 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez of Canada or 2021 French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic in the fourth.

She could face her sister Venus only in the final, because they are on opposite sides of the bracket.

World no 1 Iga Swiatek, a two-time French Open champion, will meet Jasmine Paolini in the first round, while Raducanu will begin her title defense against Alize Cornet.

Potential quarterfinals are Swiatek vs No. 8 Jessica Pegula, and No. 4 Paula Badosa vs No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka on the top half of the field, and Kontaveit — or, perhaps, Williams — vs. Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur, and No. 3 Maria Sakkari vs No. 7 Simona Halep or French Open runner-up Coco Gauff on the bottom half.

Shortly before the draw announcement, some expected news arrived: Novak Djokovic tweeted that he would not be in New York for the US Open. The 35-year-old from Serbia, who owns 21 Grand Slam titles, is not vaccinated against Covid-19. Foreign citizens who have not received the shot are not allowed to enter the United States.

-with AP inputs