For the first time, the US Open main draw begins on a Sunday, with first round singles action spread across three days.
The men’s singles draw is headlined by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, who have combined to win the last seven Majors. They are joined by Novak Djokovic, who is appearing in his 19th US Open, but hasn’t played a singles match since Wimbledon. And last year’s runner-up, American Taylor Fritz, looks to defend a big result at a Major for the first time.
Aryna Sabalenka sits atop the women’s singles draw, though despite becoming a dominant World No.1, she’s yet to win a Major this season. Iga Swiatek actuallyhas won a Major this year, which was a surprising triumph at Wimbledon following a disappoint clay court season, and she recently returned to World No.2 thanks to another surprising triumph in Cincinnati. Plus, we have a pair of reigning Major champions from the USA, in Coco Gauff and Madison Keys, as well as last year’s runner-up, American Jessica Pegula.
The first-ever Sunday schedule of first round action at the US Open features many of these noteworthy names, as Djokovic, Fritz, Sabalenka, and Pegula will all be in action. Plus, 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev tries to put an end to a three-match losing streak at Majors, against the man who defeated him last month at Wimbledon.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Jakub Mensik (16) vs. Nicolas Jarry – 11:00am on Grandstand
Mensik was the surprise champion this past March in Miami, where a Masters 1000 event became his first-ever career title, with victories over two top five players (Fritz, Djokovic). But the 19-year-old has struggled ever since, with a record of just 12-10 after leaving Miami. In his two prior US Open appearances, Jakub has reached the third round both times, yet a year ago he lost a heartbreaking five-setter to Nuno Borges despite holding match points in the fourth.
Jarry is another player who was a surprise finalist at Masters 1000 level, when he advanced to the championship match of Rome a year ago. However, like Mensik, he was unable to follow-up on that big result, as he’s been battling vestibular neuritis, a condition that has impacted his vision and also makes him dizzy. But Nico made a great run last month at Wimbledon, coming through qualifying and going all the way to the fourth round, though he’s now 0-4 since that round of 16 match.
In their first career meeting, I favor Mensik to prevail. He’s the better hard court player, and Jarry is just 3-5 lifetime in New York.
Alexandra Eala vs. Clara Tauson (14) – Second on Grandstand
This year’s Miami Open was also a breakout tournament for Eala, as she entered the event as a wild card ranked 140th in the world, yet defeated three Major singles champions (Ostapenko, Keys, Swiatek) to reach the semifinals, where she was narrowly defeated by Pegula. In doing so, she became the first Filipino to reach a WTA semifinal. Then in June, following a few months of poor results, the 20-year-old went all the way to the final in Eastbourne, where she held four championship points, yet lost 12-10 in the final-set tiebreak.
Tauson is also having a breakout season, as she started the year ranked No.50, and is now ranked No.15. The 22-year-old is 33-17 during 2025, and advanced to a WTA 1000 final this past February in Dubai. Clara was also recently a semifinalist in Montreal, where just like Alex in Miami, she upset both Swiatek and Keys. However, the US Open remains the only Major where Tauson is yet to go beyond the second round.
In another first-time encounter on the day, Tauson should be favored. She’s the more powerful of the two, with a much more formidable serve, and Eala’s form this season has been quite streaky.
Novak Djokovic (7) vs. Learner Tien – Not Before 7:00pm on Arthur Ashe Stadium
Djokovic’s last singles match was his straight-set loss in the Wimbledon semifinals to Jannik Sinner, marking the first time since 2017 that Novak failed to reach the Wimbledon final. As he continues to limit his schedule at the age of 38, Djokovic skipped both Toronto and Cincinnati. He is 26-9 on the year, and Novak hasn’t won a Major since this event two years ago. Overall he is a four-time US Open champion, and a six-time runner-up.
Tien is a 19-year-old American who made a big splash this past January at the Australian Open, where he came through qualifying to reach the round of 16, upsetting Medvedev in a near five-hour five-setter in the second round. But much like other players discussed earlier, Learner has failed to follow-up on that result, and is only 17-18 this season at tour level. However, he continues to prove he is fully capable of beating top players, as this summer alone, Tien has defeated Ben Shelton, Andrey Rublev, and Denis Shapovalov.
Despite his lack of match play, Djokovic is of course the favorite in yet another first-time meeting. Tien is known for his high tennis IQ, but he does not possess any weapons that enable him to truly threaten the all-time great.
Daniil Medvedev (13) vs. Benjamin Bonzi – Last on Louis Armstrong Stadium
Following his stunning loss to Tien in Melbourne, Medvedev lost another five-setter in the first round of Roland Garros (to Cameron Norrie), and was then upset in the first round of Wimbledon by the same opponent he faces on Sunday. By his lofthy standards, Daniil is an extremely meager 26-17 this season, , and arrives in New York having lost three of his last four matches. Medvedev himself has seemed confused as to why exactly his form has so significantly dropped, though he’s often complained about changes to the tennis balls, saying they have become heavier and slower, making it harder for him to hit through the court.
Bonzi is a 29-year-old Frenchman who is just 10-16 this year at tour level, but he comes into this Wimbledon rematch with some confidence. He accumulated three solid victories in Cincinnati, over Matteo Arnaldi, Lorenzo Musetti, and Stefanos Tsitsipas. At The Championships against Daniil, Benjamin was the player better able to protect his second serve, winning 69% of such points, compared to only 43% for Medvedev. And Bonzi’s net skills were also crucial, as he claimed 30 out of 44 points when approaching.
Their ATP head-to-head actually stands at 2-0 in Bonzi’s favor, as he also defeated Medvedev back in 2017 at Roland Garros. However, their first match on a hard court should certain be more in Daniil’s favor, and Benjamin’s net play won’t be as effective on this surface. So despite his recent woes, I like Medvedev’s chances to earn his first victory over Bonzi, and his first victory at a Major since January.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Emma Raducanu vs. Ena Shibahara (Q) – Raducanu has been playing her best and healthiest tennis in years, as the 2021 champion vies for her first US Open match win since that title run. Last June in Nottingham on grass, she defeated Shibahara in straights.
Ben Shelton (6) vs. Ignacio Buse (Q) – Shelton earned the biggest title of his career just a few weeks ago in Toronto, and made his Slam semifinal debut two years ago at this tournament. Buse is a 21-year-old qualifier from Peru making his Major debut, and is primarily a clay court player.
Emilio Nava vs. Taylor Fritz (4) – Fritz achieved his second Major semifinal last month at The Championships, yet outside of the grass court season, his results this year have been rather modest. He is 2-0 against Nava, a fellow American who lost to Fritz in straights earlier this month in Cincinnati.
Aryna Sabalenka (1) vs. Rebeka Masarova – Sabalenka is the defending champion, and leads the WTA with 50 tour wins this year. Two months ago on the grass of Berlin, she beat Masarova in straights.
Destanee Aiava (Q) vs. Jasmine Paolini (7) – Paolini is coming off a run to the final of Cincy just a week ago. Aiava is a 25-year-old Australian qualifier who is 1-7 in the main draw at Slams.
Jessica Pegula (4) vs. Mayar Sherif – Pegula has lost four of her last six matches, as she looks to defend the biggest result of her career. Sherif is a 29-year-old Egyptian who has been defeated in the first round of the US Open in each of the last four years.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
