After a marathon final between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati tournament, Djokovic said he hoped to face Alcaraz again at the US Open, “for the public.”
The public may be entitled to this revenge.
The draws for the U.S. Open matches, which begin this Monday in New York, show Djokovic and Alcaraz’s paths to the final. It would also be a rematch of the Wimbledon final on July 16, a thrilling five-set match won by Alcaraz after nearly five hours.
Djokovic missed the U.S. Open last year because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19. Travel restrictions barred him from entering the United States. Rafael Nadal is injured and Roger Federer is retired, and Djokovic will be looking to claim his 24th Grand Slam title and his third of the season following wins in Australia and France this year.
Djokovic, who will face Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the first round, will not have an easy path to the final. In the quarter-finals he could face 7th-seeded Stéfanos Tsitsipás of Greece and in the semi-finals Denmark’s Holger Rune or Norway’s Casper Ruud, who reached the US Open final last year.
Alcaraz, who will first face the German Dominik Koepfer, also has his work cut out for him to reach the final and defend his title. Alcaraz could face Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals and then one of two Russians, Andrey Rublev or Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion.
The women’s draw also promises revenge matches. Poland’s Iga Świątek, the world’s leading player, could find Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, Australian Open champion this year, in the final.
Defending his US Open title, Świątek could face Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals. After losing seven times to Świątek, the 19-year-old American finally found a way to beat her this month in the semifinals of the Cincinnati tournament. Gauff went on to win the tournament, her first WTA 1000 title.
On the other side of the table, Sabalenka could play in the quarter-finals against fifth-seeded Tunisian Ons Jabeur, a runner-up at the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in July. In the semis, Sabalenka could face French Caroline Garcia or third-seeded American Jessica Pegula.
Both tables offer promising encounters, but this year’s tournament will be without a few big names: Nadal, injured since the Australian Open, hopes to return next year. Two-time U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka will miss the tournament after giving birth to her daughter this summer, and 2021 U.S. Open champion Emma Raducanu is out recovering from three minor surgeries .
Two-time Grand Slam champion Simona Halep has been withdrawn from the tournament due to the provisional suspension she received last year after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug at the 2022 US Open.
Nick Kyrgios withdrew from the tournament due to a wrist injury.
But despite those absences, matches could be hotly contested in the first round: Tsitsipás, who lost to Djokovic in the final in Australia this year, will play 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic.
At 43, seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams will face Paula Badosa, who won in Indian Wells in 2021. Sloane Stephens, the 2017 US Open champion, will play in the first round against Beatriz Haddad Maia, a Brazilian who is having a decent season, having reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros this year and the knockout stages at Wimbledon.