The US Open draw: the Argentine who will face the wonder boy and the path of Nadal, Serena and Medvedev

One of the most exciting moments in any Grand Slam is the draw for the singles main draws. The US Open, last major it’s from the seasonnext Monday the curtain will rise at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York and the crosses of the first round and the hypothetical subsequent crosses are already known, with Daniil Medvedev (Russia, defending champion) and Rafael Nadal (Spain) as top favorites among the men, and Iga Swiatek (Poland) and Anett Kontaveit (Estonia), among the women, in addition to seven Argentines distributed in both draws.

One of the first reactions caused by the draw is linked to an Argentine: Sebastian Baez. Current 37th in the ranking, he was one drop away from being seeded and therefore went to the bag, as it is popularly said. If he hadn’t been having any luck in recent tournaments… (Taylor Fritz in Cincinnati, Nick Kyrgios in Montreal, Sebastian Korda in Washington), much less now. The player born in the San Martín game will debut in Flushing Meadows against the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, the “boy wonder”, number 4 in the world and third favorite in New York.

The other Argentine who will also have a very important first challenge will be Francisco Cerundolo, 27th in the ranking and with enormous growth in recent months. The man from Buenos Aires will face a legend like the Scotsman Andy Murray, former number 1 in the world and current 49th. It will be the first confrontation between the two.

Diego Schwartzman, 14th favorite in New York, he will face American Jack Sock (currently 108th; 8th in 2017). The rival of Tomás Etcheverry from La Plata will be the Spaniard Pablo Andújar, the Cordovan Pedro Cachin will face Aljaz Bedene (Slovenia), while Federico Coria will play against Tallon Griekspoor (Netherlands).

Rosario Nadia Podoroska, Roland Garros 2020 semifinalist and current 190th, will use the protected ranking (she was inactive for more than eight months) in Flushing Meadows: she will debut against the Slovakian Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

The legends, Nadal and Serena

Nadal, holder of the record 22 Grand Slam titles, will make his US Open debut against Rinky Hijikata, a 21-year-old Australian who received a wild card and is currently ranked 198th. In a hypothetical semifinals, Nadal could face Alcaraz.

Medvedev’s first hurdle (number 1), who beat Novak Djokovic in the US Open 2021 final, will be local Stefan Kozlov (110th).

Australian friends Nick Kyrgios (Wimbledon finalist) and Thanasi Kokkinakis will meet in the first round. The Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (4th) will wait for a player who passes the classification (it is defined this Friday). While the Italian Matteo Berrettini (13th) will play against the Bolivian Hugo Dellien.

Among women, much of the attention will be on Serena Williams, that will say goodbye to professionalism. The American’s rival will be Danka Kovinic (80th; Montenegro).

The British Emma Raducanu (11th), surprise champion last year, will debut against the French Alizé Cornet (37th). The last runner-up, the Canadian of Ecuadorian blood Leylah Fernández (14th), will face the French Oceane Dodin (99th).

The Men’s Singles Draws

Women’s Singles Draws