US Open
Sinner, Alcaraz on US Open SF collision course
Djokovic to face a qualifier in first spherical
August 22, 2024
Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour
Jannik Sinner is the highest seed on the US Open.
By ATP Employees
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are on a semi-final collision course on the US Open, it was revealed on Thursday afternoon when the draw was launched.
Sinner and Alcaraz performed in one of the vital memorable matches in current reminiscence within the 2022 US Open quarter-finals, after they battled late into the night time for greater than 5 hours earlier than the Spaniard prevailed. Alcaraz went on to elevate the trophy and develop into World No. 1 within the PIF ATP Rankings.
In the event that they meet this 12 months, will probably be within the final 4. Prime seed Sinner will start his event in opposition to American Mackenzie McDonald, in opposition to whom he owns a 3-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head report. They most just lately met in final 12 months’s Rolex Paris Masters, the place the Italian prevailed in three units.
Second seed Novak Djokovic and third seed Alcaraz will each start their event in opposition to a qualifier.
Sinner may must beat former World No. 1 and 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev within the quarter-finals and Alcaraz in semi-finals simply to achieve the ultimate on the season’s remaining main. Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, headlines the underside half of the draw.
The Italian’s prime quarter of the draw is loaded with harmful opponents. Past fifth seed Medvedev, who will face Serbian Dusan Lajovic within the first spherical, different gamers within the quarter embrace 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, Paris Olympics fourth-place finisher Felix Auger-Aliassime, #NextGenATP standouts Arthur Fils and Jakub Mensik, 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka and surging Italian Flavio Cobolli, the thirty first seed.
The primary seeded opponent Sinner may face is twenty sixth seed Nicolas Jarry, the big-hitting Chilean, who gained their solely earlier assembly in 2019 in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.
Alcaraz, the 2022 champion who has gained the previous two majors (Roland Garros and Wimbledon), additionally faces a difficult path. If he advances previous a qualifier within the first spherical, he’ll tackle former World No. 10 Denis Shapovalov or big-hitting Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.
Jack Draper, the twenty fifth seed, looms as a possible third-round opponent for Alcaraz. The Briton upset the Spaniard earlier this 12 months at Queen’s Membership.
Djokovic has not performed since capturing the gold medal on the Paris Olympics, so he’ll attempt to discover his type instantly at Flushing Meadows in opposition to a qualifier. The four-time US Open champion will then play countryman Laslo Djere or German Jan-Lennard Struff within the second spherical. Final 12 months, Djere took a two-set lead in opposition to Djokovic within the third spherical of this event earlier than falling in 5 units.
First-round matches to look at embrace Wimbledon semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti in opposition to big-serving Reilly Opelka and final 12 months’s US Open semi-finalist Ben Shelton in opposition to 2020 champion Dominic Thiem, who’s retiring later this 12 months.
