US Open Preview: Medvedev heads open men’s draw, Serena says farewell at Flushing Meadows

A tournament which thrives under the glorious late-night American lights and vibrant, bouncing atmosphere, has typically bought about maiden majors for many of the players on the men’s side - Andy Murray, Juan Martin Del Potro, Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem and Medvedev – and could easily give us yet another first-time winner.

There are also a few thrilling storylines on the women’s side of the draw, most notably the retirement of the great Serena Williams (40). The 23-time major winner is saying goodbye to tennis after the US Open and will be desperate to finish with a flourish that would cap off a phenomenal career.

Defending champion Raducanu will be looking to make a fist of her defence of the title, with the possibility of plummeting down the rankings with an early exit lurking.

Men's draw

The Grand Slam calendar ends right where we started – with the omission of Novak Djokovic. The Wimbledon champion was left out of the US Open draw due to his vaccination status, reminiscent of the Australian Open (minus the Hollywood drama) back in January.

His exclusion leaves a 21-time major winner-sized hole in the draw, and surely someone who would have been the favourite to win the title.

Alexander Zverev will also be missing after he suffered a horrific looking injury against Rafael Nadal in the French Open semi-finals.

As a result, defending champion and world number one Medvedev is the bookies' favourite. After claiming his first Grand Slam with an emphatic win over Djokovic this time last year, he will be aiming to repeat his heroics.

However, he has struggled for form following his heart-wrenching five-set loss to Nadal in Australia back in January, and hasn’t had the build-up he would have wanted during a period he usually relishes playing in.

Medvedev adores the North American hard-court swing with his greatest successes coming during this period. But defeats to Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas in Toronto and Cincinnati respectively have left him looking a little more vulnerable than expected.

The Russian opens his campaign against Stefan Kozlov and could face a fiercely difficult fourth-round tie with Kyrgios, who is going to be a real danger man and a genuine threat this tournament. His performances since Wimbledon have been superb and there’s a new-found aura about the Australian.

If he continues to stay focused, he could go on a run deep into this tournament. Medvedev then faces a potential rematch with Tsitsipas in the semi-finals. A hugely awkward draw for the reigning champion.

Then there’s Nadal (36). The current Australian and French Open champion will be targeting his 23rd major title to put him two ahead of Djokovic in the Grand Slam stakes.

The Spaniard would surely be the favourite if it wasn’t for his recurrent injury problems. Nadal pulled out of his Wimbledon semi-final with Kyrgios with an abdominal injury and has only played once since - an opening-round defeat to Borna Coric in Cincinnati. It would be foolish to rule out possibly the greatest fighter this sport has ever seen, but his body must hold up if he has a chance.

Nadal will be relatively pleased with his draw though, Diego Schwartzman and Cameron Norrie being two of his most formidable opponents en route to the semi-finals, where he could come up against the new kid on the block, Carlos Alcaraz (19).

Alcaraz will be chomping at the bit to really make a mark in New York. Despite his stunning success with Masters titles in Miami and Madrid earlier this year, Alcaraz hasn’t been able to fully adapt to the five-set format yet, suffering losses to Matteo Berrettini, Zverev and Jannick Sinner in the other three majors this year.

The Spaniard has an extremely tricky first-round match with German Oscar Otte, then Sinner could await again further down the line. Most intriguingly, he faces a scary-looking third-round contest with the rejuvenated Coric, who reigned supreme in Cincinnati after a nightmare few years battling injury.

The real dark horses lurk in Tsitsipas’ quarter. Taylor Fritz is someone who could wreak havoc at the US Open. The American will be playing on home soil filled with the confidence of having a fantastic year, including a first Masters title in Indian Wells as well as a Wimbledon quarter-final.

Berrettini is also perfectly poised to pounce. A thunderous server with an equally thumping forehand means he has the ideal game for these conditions. Despite struggling for momentum due to injuries, he will undoubtedly be one to watch.

French Open finalist Casper Ruud is another in this quarter, alongside Andy Murray (35). The three-time major winner opens against Francisco Cerundolo, but could stumble against Berrettini in round three. Stanislas Wawrinka is unlikely to cause many problems but is nonetheless also a three-time Grand Slam winner.

The men’s draw is truly captivating and mouth-wateringly unpredictable, leaving us with a plethora of possibilities.

Women's draw

There’s really only one place to start: Serena’s final tournament before she heads off into the sunset.

Of her staggering 23 major titles, six of them have come on the Arthur Ashe court. Her form coming into the tournament hasn’t been the best, losing to Belinda Bencic in the second round at Toronto and a first-round defeat to Raducanu in Cincinnati.

However, she remains the main attraction at the US Open and will open against Danka Kovinic. The issue is that she could come up against last year’s finalist Leylah Fernandez in round three and is also in the same quarter as Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur.

Barring a miracle, she will struggle to make a real impact. She will get a second bite at the cherry though after being offered a wildcard into the doubles alongside sister Venus (42).

Raducanu has had a difficult year on tour, but that was to be expected bearing in mind she had barely played on the WTA Tour prior to her triumph last year. However, the spotlight has continued to be on her due to the rise in expectations.

The British number one will hope that she can rediscover some of her scintillating form at Flushing Meadows but knows a first-round exit could be incredibly damaging to her world ranking. Currently the world number 11, should she lose to Alize Cornet she will plummet down to the mid-80s.

She really couldn’t have asked for a tougher draw. Cornet is one of the most enigmatic and dangerous players on tour and was the person to end Iga Swiatek’s incredible winning streak at Wimbledon.

A meeting with two-time US Open champion and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka (24) awaits in the third round, while Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and fourth seed Paula Badosa are all potential opponents.

Simona Halep and Coco Gauff are drawn in the same quarter, alongside dark horse Madison Keys. Caroline Garcia recently made a breakthrough after a staggering win in Cincinnati, and she is also in the same section.

French Open finalist Gauff and two-time major winner Halep will be the favourites to escape their quarter. Gauff has failed to beat Halep in their four matches against each other, with the Romanian beating the 18-year-old in their recent meeting in Toronto.

Finally, world umber one Swiatek (21) is tasked with several challenging home favourites on her side of the draw. The Pole started the season in truly record-breaking fashion, going on a 37-match streak and claiming six consecutive titles in Qatar, Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, Rome and Roland Garros.

However, her form has been inconsistent in the second half of the year, and she has generally not had as much success at majors outside of the French at her young age.

Garbine Muguruza will offer a stiff test to Swiatek, but the American trio of Sloane Stephens, Amanda Anisimova and Jessica Pegula will all be confident of causing an upset.

American number one Pegula has had a really promising year, reaching the quarters at the Australian Open and French Open while also going on deep runs at Toronto and Cincinnati. 

Similar to the men’s side, attempting to predict the winner will probably leave many viewers with eggs on their faces, which makes the US Open this year a thrilling prospect.