2024 US Open: Sinner, Alcaraz in same half; Sabalenka, Gauff in bottom half

The last major of the year – the US Open – begins next week, and defending champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff will be looking to add another title to their trophy haul.

On the men’s side, the main question among the top seeds was on which side of the top two seeds would No 3 Carlos Alcaraz fall in, and it is Jannik Sinner that has pulled the short straw, meaning the Spaniard and the Italian are projected to meet in the semi-finals. Danill Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Alex De Minaur are among other top seeds in the upper half of the men’s draw. On the bottom half, defending champion Novak Djokovic is projected to meet in Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, with Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, and Andrey Rublev also potentially waiting in the latter stages. Lurking in round three for the Serbian might be Montreal champion Alexi Popyrin, who will have undoubtedly gained significant confidence after winning the biggest title of his career.

The marquee first round matches on the men’s side include:

• Ben Shelton (13) v Dominic Thiem
• Arthur Fils (24) v Learner Tien
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (11) v Thanasi Kokkinakis
• Jack Draper (25) v Zhizhen Zhang
• Holger Rune (15) v Brandon Nakashima
• Gael Monfils v Diego Schwartzman

On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek‘s quarter is filled with hard hitters that may prove as roadblocks to a sixth major title, with Mirra Andreeva potentially waiting in round four and Jessica Pegula in a projected quarter-final. Meanwhile Cincinnati champion Aryna Sabalenka has drawn Qinwen Zheng in her quarter, with Madison Keys and Ons Jabeur potential round four opponents. Of the top four seeds, it is defending champion Coco Gauff who has the most difficult draw, which is only exacerbated by her recent poor form. The American has drawn Elina Svitolina in projected round three, whilst Maria Sakkari, Paula Badosa, and Barbora Krejcikova waiting as possible quarter-final opponents.

The marquee first round matches on the women’s side of the draw includes:

• Jelena Ostapenko (10) v Naomi Osaka
• Sofia Kenin v Emma Raducanu
• Zheng Qinwen (7) v Amanda Anisimova
• Jasmine Paolini (5) v Bianca Andreescu
• Yulia Putintseva (30) vs Linda Noskova

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