The 2024 US Open begins on Monday in New York City.
The last Major of this busy Olympic year is upon us. And the last few US Opens to take place directly after the Olympics have provided some shocking and unique results. In 2021, Emma Raducanu became the only qualifier to ever win a Major, defeating surprise finalist Leylah Fernandez, while Daniil Medvedev claimed his only Slam title to date, denying Novak Djokovic’s bid for the calendar-year Grand Slam. In 2016, both Angelique Kerber and Stan Wawrinka won their only US Opens. And in 2012, Andy Murray broke through to win his first Major, which was also his only US Open. Will this fortnight deliver more atypical winners?
Novak Djokovic is the defending champion in men’s singles, but the winners of the first three Majors of 2024 have been the leaders of the new generation: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. Coco Gauff is the defending champion in women’s singles, yet it’s two other reigning Major champs who are the top seeds: Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.
Djokovic and Gauff headline Day 1’s schedule, with Gauff defending a Major title for the first time in her career. Plus, Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng takes on recent Toronto finalist Amanda Anisimova. And both Dominic Thiem and Diego Schwartzman play what could be their last match at a Major, and both face considerable first round opposition, in Ben Shelton and Gael Monfils.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Qinwen Zheng (7) vs. Amanda Anisimova (WC) – 11:00am on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Since achieving a career milestone of winning an Olympic gold medal for China, Qinwen has experienced a whirlwind of attention in her home country, and has traveled back there multiple times within the past few weeks. Flying halfway around the world and back is not good preparation for this Major. Amidst all of that, Zheng did play in Cincinnati, going 1-1. She was a quarterfinalist in New York a year ago.
Anisimova has dealt with physical and mental issues during the last few years, but the 22-year-old has regained her form this summer. She came through qualifying in Washington to reach the quarterfinals, and advanced all the way to the final in Toronto, where she earned four top 20 wins, including one over Aryna Sabalenka. Yet Amanda is a modest 3-4 lifetime at her home Slam.
In their first career meeting, I have the Olympic gold medalist on an upset alert. Qinwen must be emotionally drained after such a life-changing achievement, and Anisimova is very dangerous when her serve and backhand are clicking, as they have been this past month.
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Ben Shelton (13) vs. Dominic Thiem (WC) – 12:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Thiem has announced he will retire after this October’s ATP event in Vienna, so this will be his last Major. Sadly, the 2020 US Open champion has been unable to fully recover from a wrist injury he suffered shortly after winning his only Slam title. Dominic is just 2-7 this year at tour level, and hasn’t won a match since the first week of April.
Shelton made a significant impression at this tournament a year ago, advancing to the semifinals. But the 21-year-old American has failed to build on that result, with a modest record of 30-19 this season, and failing to go beyond the fourth round at a Major. However, Ben loves performing on a big stage, and will embrace facing a former champion in the sport’s largest stadium.
Dom and Ben played twice last year, splitting those two encounters. Thiem was victorious on clay in Estoril, while Shelton was victorious at this same event. In the second round here a year ago, Dominic retired from their match due to injury after losing the first set. On Monday, Shelton is a strong favorite to prevail again, in what will most likely be Thiem’s last match at a Grand Slam tournament.
Varvara Gracheva vs. Coco Gauff (3) – Second on Arthur Ashe Stadium
This match has bizarrely been scheduled during the day instead of in the night session, perhaps in an effort to help alleviate some pressure from Coco’s shoulders. Gauff has never attempted to defend a title of this caliber before, and unlike last summer, she arrives in New York with little confidence, and on the heels of some bad losses and emotional on-court outbursts. The 20-year-old is 38-14 on the year, but went just 1-2 the past few weeks on American hard courts, with a one-sided loss to Diana Shnaider in Toronto, and frankly a match she gave away to Yulia Putintseva in Cincinnati.
Gracheva is a 24-year-old from France who has shown she can compete with the top players in the sport. Just a week ago in Cincy, she pushed World No.1 Iga Swiatek to a third set. And Varvara advanced to the round of 16 a few months ago at her home Major, upsetting Maria Sakkari in the first round. Yet overall she is 14-19 at tour level in 2024.
This is a rematch from the first week of the year, which Gauff easily won 6-1, 6-1 in Auckland. That was also the last time Coco won a title, or even advanced to a final. And while I would not be surprised if Gauff makes an early exit during this fortnight, she remains the favorite against Gracheva, who doesn’t possess the same firepower as Coco, or players like Shnaider or Putintseva who have recently defeated Gauff.
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Gael Monfils vs. Diego Schwartzman (Q) – Third on Grandstand
Schwartzman will retire from tennis after the Argentina Open in early 2025. Currently ranked 246th in the world, this may be his last Major appearance, unless he receives a wild card or qualifies for the Australian Open. Diego is a two-time US Open quarterfinalist, and even reached the semis of Roland Garros in 2020. Yet in 2024, the 32-year-old is 0-7 at tour level, though he did come through qualifying without dropping a set.
Monfils is a modest 20-18 this season, but has accumulated some good wins this summer. Just a week ago in Cincinnati, he took out Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin, then pulled off a huge upset over Carlos Alcaraz. That was Gael’s biggest victory by ranking in nearly two-and-a-half years. The Frenchman will soon turn 38 years of age, and is a two-time Major semifinalist, including at this event in 2016.
Schwartzman actually leads their head-to-head 3-2 overall, and 2-1 on hard courts, having claimed their last two matches. However, they haven’t played in nearly three years, and Diego’s form his dipped dramatically since that time. Monfils should be favored in this matchup between two of the sport’s speediest players, and this is another match on Day 1 where I expect to see a US Open career come to an end.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Emil Ruusuvuori vs. Alexander Zverev (4) – Zverev leads the ATP with 52 wins this season, and has reached the quarterfinals or better in his last three appearances in New York. He has split two tight contests with Ruusuvuori, both of which also took place on American hard courts.
Barbora Krejcikova (8) vs. Marina Bassols Ribera (Q) – This will be Krejcikova’s first hard court match in over six months, after winning Wimbledon and reaching the quarterfinals of the Paris Olympics. Bassols Ribera is a 24-year-old qualifier from Spain making her Major debut, and only owns one career main draw victory at WTA level.
Radu Albot (Q) vs. Novak Djokovic (2) – Djokovic is the defending and four-time champion, though he has never won back-to-back US Open titles, and has not played a match since claiming his ever-elusive Olympic gold medal. Albot is a 34-year-old qualifier who is 1-8 in the first round of this event.
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Priscilla Hon (Q) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka is coming off a title run a week ago in Cincinnati, her first since winning her second Major this past January in Melbourne. Priscilla Hon is a 26-year-old qualifier who had failed to qualify for the last 10 Majors.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
