The official US Open draw took place in the early hours of Friday morning AEST, pitting a handful of difficult projected paths for Australia's hopefuls.
A staggering 20 Aussies will feature in singles action at Flushing Meadows, as six players survived the final round of qualifying to join the 11 men and three women who already secured their passage - including Taylah Preston and Tristan Schoolkate who received wildcards. Round 1 Aussie Men's Singles Matches: Alex de Minaur [10] v Marcos Giron [46] (USA) Alexei Popyrin [28] v Soonwoo Kwon [342] (KOR) Jordan Thompson [33] v Constant Lestienne [110] (FRA) Rinky Hijikata [65] v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina [57] (ESP) James Duckworth [70] v Flavio Cobolli [31] (ITA) Thanasi Kokkinakis [84] v Stefanos Tsitsipas [11] (GRE) Chris O'Connell [86] v Nicolás Jarry [26] (CHI) Max Purcell [91] v Aleksandar Vukic [94]
Adam Walton [96] v Alexandre Müller [76] (FRA)
Li Tu [188] (Q) v Carlos Alcaraz [3] (ESP)
Tristan Schoolkate [195] (WC) v Taro Daniel [88] (JPN)
All eyes will be on world No.10 Alex de Minaur after not playing a competitive singles match in more than six weeks. The 25-year-old suffered a freak hip injury in the fourth round of Wimbledon, ripping up his chances of continuing at the All England Club and ending his Olympic dream, albeit stepping out on court in the doubles.
The second quarter of the draw is where he finds himself, projected to meet seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz in the round of 16 and 2022 US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
Sydneysider Alexei Popyrin is coming off a sensational Masters 1000 title in Montreal, propelling him to a deserved top 32 seeding place for the final major of the calendar year.
If he is to eclipse his best showing of the third round at the US Open, Popyrin will likely be required to beat 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic to qualify for the second week.
Qualifier Li Tu will soak in the moment on Arthur Ashe Stadium when he faces Alcaraz in the opening round, while Thanasi Kokkinakis awaits Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas in what has all the makings of a classic.
Tournament Favourites: Perhaps attaining the No.1 seed is not always advantageous, because Italian Jannik Sinner faces a challenging half of the draw where he will need to potentially take down Daniil Medvedev and Alcaraz to reach the final.
Reigning champion Novak Djokovic should fancy his chances to claim a 25th major trophy, but former US Open finalist Alexander Zverev may pose the biggest threat to the Serbian's throne.
A rematch of the tie between Djokovic and Ben Shelton is possible in the fourth round - but who will hang up the phone?
Round 1 Aussie Women's Singles Matches:
Daria Saville [93] v Ena Shibahara [218] (JPN) (Q)
Arina Rodionova [118] (Q) v Wang Xinyu [37] (CHN)
Ajla Tomljanović [119] v Ann Li [131] (USA) (Q)
Maya Joint [136] (Q) v Laura Siegemund [92] (GER)
Taylah Preston [145] (WC) v Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova [26]
Kimberly Birrell [147] (Q) v Donna Vekić [24]
Destanee Aiava [180] (Q) v Elena Rybakina [4]
Priscilla Hon [205] (Q) v Aryna Sabalenka [2]
For the first time in 35 years, eight Australian women will participate in the US Open singles draw - featuring five qualifiers.
Daria Saville and wildcard Taylah Preston have been handed nightmare draws, with both set to meet world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the second and third rounds respectively.
The same can be said for Destanee Aiava and Priscilla Hon, who are forced to face off against two heavy favourites to win the tournament.
Qualifier Kimberly Birrell takes on Donna Vekić, with the latter in the form of her career off the back of a Wimbledon semi-final and an Olympic silver medal. At the 2019 Australian Open, Birrell stunned the Croatian in three sets.
Despite losing four of her past five matches since reaching the final of the Birmingham Classic, Ajla Tomljanović is the best chance to make a deep run, paired against a qualifier in round one before projected meetings with Elise Mertens and 14th seed Madison Keys.
Tournament Favourites:
After witnessing Swiatek's shock defeat at the Paris Games, it has proven once and for all that the women's tour is as open as ever.
Second seed and two-time Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka has avoided former Grand Slam champions Swiatek and Rybakina, but the 26-year-old will need to get past current champion Coco Gauff if she is to progress to the final and claim a Grand Slam outside of Melbourne Park.
コメント