Thursday's US Open men's singles draw placed title contenders Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev together in the top half, with reigning Australian Open champ Sinner and 2021 New York titlist Medvedev in the same quarter. Olympic champion Novak Djokovic anchors the bottom half as the No. 2 seed and is seeded for a rematch with Ben Shelton in the fourth round—though Shelton must navigate a marquee opener against the retiring Dominic Thiem before a potential third-round rematch with fellow American Frances Tiafoe.
USOpen.org breaks down the draw ahead of the start of main-draw action Monday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. View the full men's singles draw here.
Sinner, Medvedev could have third major meeting of 2024
Cincinnati champ Sinner came from two sets down to beat Medvedev in the Australian Open final and win his first Grand Slam singles crown, before Medvedev got his revenge in another five-setter in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The rivals, who have never met in New York, could contest their 13th tour-level meeting in the US Open quarterfinals.
The long road to that potential showdown begins against American Mackenzie McDonald for Sinner, and against Dusan Lajovic for Medvedev in the draw's top quarter. World No. 1 Sinner could meet another home favorite, 19-year-old Alex Michelsen, in the second round, with Stan Wawrinka a possible third-round foe.
Also in the top quarter, Stefanos Tsitsipas opens his campaign with a tough test against Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Greek is bidding to break his New York hoodoo by advancing beyond the third round for the first time in his seventh main-draw appearance. American 14th seed Tommy Paul also lurks in the same section and will face a tough opening test against Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.
Alcaraz will meet a qualifier in bid to snap skid
The 2022 US Open champion enters this year's event on a rare two-match losing streak, having suffered a shock opening loss to Gael Monfils in Cincinnati after losing to Djokovic in the Paris Olympics final. The 21-year-old Spaniard will seek to play his way back into form against a qualifier in the first round, with Denis Shapovalov and Botic van De Zandschulp his potential second-round assignments. The first seeded opponent Alcaraz could face is Jack Draper in the third round.
Seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz, who made a quick and successful return from meniscus surgery to reach ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals in Montreal and Cincinnati, will also open against a qualifier. The Pole could meet Constantin Frantzen or Jordan Thompson in the second round. Other Top 20 seeds in the second quarter include Sebastian Korda (vs. Corentin Moutet), who won the Washington, D.C, title this month, and Alex de Minaur (vs. Marcos Giron), who is set for his first tournament since pulling out of the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a hip injury.
Former finalists Zverev, Ruud on collision course
Alexander Zverev (2020) and Casper Ruud (2022) have both come within one match of US Open glory, but only one can progress as far as the semifinals this year in the draw's third quarter. Zverev will open his New York campaign against Emil Ruusuvuori after a successful North American hard-court swing consisting of a quarterfinal run in Montreal and a semifinal showing in Cincinnati—where he lost to eventual champ Sinner in a third-set tiebreak.
Ruud went 1-2 at those two events and will seek his second hard-court win of the summer against a qualifier in the opening round. The Norwegian could face Monfils, who stunned Alcaraz last week, in the second round.
Top-ranked American Taylor Fritz—one of five American men among the Top 20 seeds—was also placed in the third quarter with an opener against Camilo Ugo Carabelli. Another home hope, Brandon Nakashima, will clash with 15th seed Holger Rune, while Reilly Opelka continues his comeback on home soil against 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic could face Montreal champ Popyrin before Shelton or Tiafoe
The reigning Olympic gold medalist was not handed the kindest draw, despite the protection of his No. 2 seed. After opening against a qualifier and potentially facing fellow Serb Laslo Djere after that, the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion could meet the surging Alexei Popyrin in the third round. The 25-year-old Popyrin won his first Masters 1000 event earlier this month in Montreal and possesses the sort of big-hitting game that could take the racquet out of Djokovic's hand for spells.
Beyond that, Djokovic could meet either Shelton or Frances Tiafoe in the fourth round, with the popular Americans seeded to meet in Round 3 for a rematch of their 2023 New York quarterfinal. Shelton won that all-American battle to set up a memorable semifinal against Djokovic, who infamously copied the former Florida Gator's "hang up the phone" celebration after a straight-sets win.
Sixth seed Andrey Rublev will open against Thiago Seyboth Wild in the bottom quarter, where he could meet ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
The 2024 US Open singles main draw begins Monday with two days of first-round play.
