The annual US Open men’s and women’s singles draws were released on Thursday. This year’s event will be the 140th edition of the US Open tennis tournament and the second Grand Slam event of the year after the Australian Open that held from 20 January to 2 February 2020.
Rafael Nadal and Bianca Andreescu are the men’s and women’s singles defending champions respectively. However, both decided not to compete. Nadal withdrew from the tournament citing safety concerns, while Andreescu stated that the pandemic had compromised her ability to prepare and compete at her highest level.
- Defending champion Bianca Andreescu drops out of US Open women’s singles
- More superstars pull out of US Grand Slam tournament
Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Karolina Pliskova lead respective brackets in the men’s and women’s edition. Djokovic would face Damir Dzumhur in Round 1, while Pliskova looks set to battle Anhelina Kalinina.
The Serb was drawn on the top line of the men’s bracket, sharing the first quarter with No. 6 seed David Goffin, who will play Reilly Opelka in his first-round match.
No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev who also was in the top half, will open against 2017 US Open finalist Kevin Anderson, while No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas would be playing his first match against Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain after heading the second quarter of the draw.
In the men’s bottom half, 2019 US Open finalist and No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev shares the third quarter with 2019 semifinalist and No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini.
The fourth quarter, anchored by No. 2 seed Dominic Thiem, will see wild card Andy Murray take on rising Japanese star Yoshihito Nishioka in Round 1.
