World No.1 Rafael Nadal could face old rival Roger Federer in the US Open semi-finals as the draw in Flushing Meadows ensured that the pair would only potentially meet in the semi-finals. Aside from being drawn with Federer, Nadal has a favourable draw as the top seed in Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2010. Nadal starts against Dusan Lajovic, with either Taro Daniel or Tommy Paul in the second round.
Nadal’s first seeded opponent would be Richard Gasquet in the third round. Nadal has a perfect career record against Gasquet to date. Other players in his section include old nemesis Fabio Fognini and former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych.
Nadal’s scheduled quarter-final opponent is Grigor Dimitrov, though Dimitrov has a tough section that includes the likes of mercurial Frenchman Gael Monfils, who was a semi-finalist here last year.
Federer, seeded 3rd, has a tougher-looking draw in contrast to Nadal. Federer starts against young American Frances Tiafoe, with Fernando Verdasco or Feliciano Lopez potential opponents in the third round. Verdasco is unseeded. Federer’s section is littered with potential dangers, with Nick Kyrgios a potential 4th round opponent. Federer’s quarter-final is Dominic Thiem, seeded 6th, though Thiem’s section also contains 2009 champion Juan Martin del Potro.
Andy Murray is the 2nd seed and the Briton also has a favourable quarter. He starts against American Tennys Sandgren, and his first seeded opponent would be the more clay minded Diego Schwartzmann in the third round. Lucas Pouille or the resurgent David Ferrer would likely provide the seeded fourth round opponent, before 8th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga potentially waits in the quarters. Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Pablo Carreno Busta will do their best to prevent Tsonga reaching a possible encounter with Murray.
Murray’s toughest match en route to a potential final is undoutedly his semi-final schedule with Alexander Zverev his prospective opponent, Zverev starts with a qualifier before perhaps facing 28th seed Kevin Anderson in the third round. Jack Sock could cause some trouble for Zverev in the fourth round.
Marin Cilic is the 5th seed and he has a tough start against former Top 10 player Gilles Simon. Cilic has a 1-5 record against Simon. Cilic is the potential quarter-final opponent for Alexander Zverev and could be forced to knock out both Zverev brothers if he is to reach the semi-finals as Alexander’s brother Mischa is seeded to meet Cilic.
The draw has been hit by three high-profile withdrawals in the weeks leading up to the tournament. Former champion Novak Djokovic pulled out of the rest of the season with an elbow injury, whilst defending champion Stan Wawrinka was also forced out by injury. The tournament was also hit by the loss of former finalist Kei Nishikori, who suffered a torn muscle in training and will now be out for the rest of the season.
Seeded quarter-finals:
(1) Rafael Nadal vs (7) Grigor Dimitrov
(2) Andy Murray vs (8) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
(3) Roger Federer vs (6) Dominic Thiem
(4) Alexander Zverev vs (5) Marin Cilic
