US Open 2024: Sinner leads stacked top half, Gauff, Sabalenka on semis collision course

World No.1 gets Alcaraz and Medvedev on his side of draw

Jannik Sinner & Daniil Medvedev - Finale Open d'Australie 2024

©Corinne Dubreuil / FFT

Friday 23 August 2024 - Reem Abulleil

The draw of the final Grand Slam of the season has been unveiled and there’s plenty to look forward to in New York these next two weeks.

Here’s what we learned from the big reveal.

Sinner leads trio of major contenders in top half

Two years ago, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz produced one of the most memorable matches of this century when they battled for five sets on Arthur Ashe stadium in a US Open quarter-final that ended at nearly 3:00 in the morning.

A 10th career meeting between the pair could be in the cards this fortnight in New York as Sinner and Alcaraz have both landed in the same half of the draw and are slated to potentially clash in the semi-finals.

Fresh off of a title run in Cincinnati, the top-seeded Sinner must first navigate through a tough quarter, where another familiar foe looms ahead in the form of 2021 US Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who could face the Italian in the last-eight stage.

Sinner and Medvedev have already had two big showdowns at the majors this season, with the former triumphing in Australian Open final to lift a maiden Grand Slam crown and the latter getting his revenge with a Wimbledon quarter-final victory six months later.

But before that mouthwatering meeting can materialise, Sinner must first get through an opener against American Mackenzie McDonald. Chilean Nicolas Jarry is the first seed Sinner could face, in the third round, while 14th-seeded American Tommy Paul could lie ahead in the fourth round.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz is bidding to capture a third consecutive Grand Slam title and extend his 14-match winning streak at the majors.

The Spanish No.3 seed kicks off his US Open journey against Australian qualifier Li Tu, with Britain’s Jack Draper looming large as a possible third round opponent. Washington champion Sebastian Korda could face Alcaraz in round four, while seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz, who rebounded from meniscus surgery by making the quarters in Montreal and Cincinnati, potentially awaits in the quarter-finals.

Defending champs could face early challenges

Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff return to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre looking to create more special memories in New York.

The second-seeded Djokovic could become the first ever tennis player to claim 25 Grand Slam singles titles should he successfully defend his US Open crown.

On the heels of securing the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, where he avenged his Wimbledon final defeat to Alcaraz in the final, Djokovic begins his US Open campaign against Moldovan Radu Albot, and could run into recent Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin in the third round.

One of two Americans, Frances Tiafoe (Cincinnati runner-up) or Ben Shelton, are possible fourth-round foes for Djokovic, while an in-form Andrey Rublev or Grigor Dimitrov could face the Serb in the quarter-finals.

In the semis, Djokovic could get Roland-Garros runner-up Alexander Zverev or three-time major finalist Casper Ruud.

On the ladies’ side, Gauff, who last year became the youngest American woman to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999, could get a rematch with the player she beat to clinch the title, Aryna Sabalenka, but this time their clash would come in the semis instead of the final.

But first, the third-seeded Gauff must get through a tricky opener against France’s Varvara Gracheva, and a possible third round against No.27 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

Emma Navarro, who is in sizzling form this year, or Marta Kostyuk loom ahead in the fourth round for Gauff before a potential quarter-final against reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova or Washington champion and Cincinnati semi-finalist Paula Badosa.

Sabalenka avoids Pegula and Swiatek

After missing Wimbledon with a shoulder injury and opting out of the Paris Olympics, Sabalenka’s summer has picked up significantly thanks to her title run in Cincinnati.

The No.2 seed anchors the bottom half of the draw and opens against Australian qualifier Priscilla Hon. Sabalenka could get American big-hitter Madison Keys in the fourth round, while Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, No.12 seed Daria Kasatkina, or Wimbledon semi-finalist and Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic are all potential quarter-final foes for her.

On the opposite side of the draw, five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek shares the top quarter with a red-hot Jessica Pegula, who won the WTA 1000 title in Toronto and reached the final in Cincinnati in the build-up to the US Open.

Other serious threats in the quarter include 17-year-old Roland-Garros semi-finalist Mirra Andreeva, and No.11 seed Danielle Collins, who is playing her very last US Open before she retires at the end of the season.

Swiatek opens against lucky loser Kamilla Rakhimova while Pegula faces another retiring American, Shelby Rogers, in the first round.

No.4 seed Elena Rybakina, who announced her split from long-time coach Stefano Vukov on the eve of the US Open, could await Swiatek or Pegula in the semi-finals. The Kazakhstani former Wimbledon champion has landed in the same quarter as Roland-Garros and Wimbledon finalist Jasmine Paolini, Naomi Osaka, and No.10 seed Jelena Ostapenko.