U.S. Open Draws Pave the Way for a Rematch of Djokovic vs. Alcaraz in Final

Published: August 24, 2023

After a marathon match between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday within the last of the Western & Southern Open in Ohio, Djokovic mentioned he hoped to play Alcaraz once more on the U.S. Open “for the crowd.”

The crowd might get to see that rematch.

The males’s and ladies’s singles attracts for the U.S. Open, which begins on Monday in New York, revealed the trail for Djokovic and Alcaraz to satisfy once more within the last, which might even be a rematch of final month’s Wimbledon last, an exhilarating five-setter that Alcaraz received after almost 5 hours on the court docket.

“Every match we play against each other goes the distance,” Djokovic mentioned after the ultimate on Sunday, including that the match felt like a Grand Slam.

Djokovic returns to New York after lacking the U.S. Open final yr as a result of he was unvaccinated towards the coronavirus and journey restrictions wouldn’t enable him to enter the United States. Now, with an injured Rafael Nadal and a retired Roger Federer not in his approach, Djokovic will search his twenty fourth Grand Slam title and his third of the season after profitable in Australia and France earlier this yr.

Djokovic, who will play Alexandre Muller of France within the first spherical of the match, is not going to have a straightforward path to the ultimate. He might probably face the No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece within the quarterfinals, and within the semifinals, Djokovic might play Holger Rune of Denmark or Casper Ruud, the Norwegian who reached final yr’s U.S. Open last.

Alcaraz, who will face Dominik Koepfer of Germany within the first spherical, might additionally see some formidable opposition as he seems to defend his U.S. Open title. Alcaraz might play towards Jannik Sinner of Italy within the quarterfinals, adopted by one among two Russians, both Andrey Rublev or Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion.

The ladies’s draw might additionally result in a number of rivalries and rematches. Iga Swiatek, the No. 1 ladies’s participant on this planet, might find yourself within the last towards Aryna Sabalenka, this yr’s Australian Open champion.

In defending her U.S. Open title, Swiatek might face Coco Gauff within the quarterfinals. Before this month, Swiatek had received seven matches towards Gauff, however the 19-year-old American lastly discovered a strategy to defeat Swiatek this month within the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open. Gauff went on to win the match for her first WTA 1000 title.

On the opposite aspect of the draw, Sabalenka might play a quarterfinal match towards Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian No. 5 seed who reached the U.S. Open last final yr and misplaced within the Wimbledon last in July. In the semis, Sabalenka might meet both Caroline Garcia of France or Jessica Pegula, the American No. 3 seed.

While each attracts provide promising matchups, this yr’s match will miss some large names: An harm has saved Nadal sidelined because the Australian Open, with hopes to return subsequent yr. Naomi Osaka, a two-time U.S. Open champion, will miss the match after giving start to her daughter this summer season, and Emma Raducanu, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, is out as she recovers from three minor procedures.

Simona Halep, a two-time Grand Slam singles champion, was withdrawn from the match due to a provisional suspension she obtained final yr after she examined optimistic for a performance-enhancing drug through the 2022 U.S. Open.

This yr’s U.S. Open can even miss trick photographs from Nick Kyrgios, who withdrew from the match due to a wrist harm.

But regardless of the notable absences, the match will open with some robust first-round matches: Tsitsipas, who misplaced to Djokovic on this yr’s Australian Open last, will begin off towards Milos Raonic, a Wimbledon finalist in 2016. Venus Williams, the 43-year-old seven-time Grand Slam champion, will play Paula Badosa, who received at Indian Wells in 2021. And Sloane Stephens, the 2017 U.S. Open champion, will play within the first spherical towards Beatriz Haddad Maia, a Brazilian participant who has had an honest season, reaching the French Open semifinals this yr and the spherical of 16 at Wimbledon.

Source web site: www.nytimes.com