US Open 2024 mens singles draw preview and prediction: Potential Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovi

The 2024 US Open draws were published on August 22nd and fans are in for a treat at the final Slam of the year. There are interesting matchups early on and difficult roads to tread for the best in the world. 

The draw is divided into four quarters and each of the top 4 seeds occupies one of these quarters. Having locked in their rankings after the Cincinnati Masters, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev will be the top 4 seeds, in that order. 

The World No. 1 and World No. 2 have tricky draws while Alcaraz and Zverev have relatively clearer paths to the semifinal, going by rankings of the players in their quarters. Sinner, to add to his recent doping controversy, has a potential quarterfinal matchup against 2021 champion, Daniil Medvedev. This may prove to be a demanding task for the Italian as he trails Medvedev 5-7 in their head-to-head tally. Their most recent meeting was in the quarterfinal of Wimbledon where Medvedev got the better of Sinner in five sets, breaking a 5-match losing streak against him. 

The defending champion, Novak Djokovic has a potential third-round encounter with exciting American, Frances Tiafoe. Although Tiafoe has yet to get the better of the 24-time Grand Slam winner, he is a dark horse given his recent form and has also previously downed Rafael Nadal at this event.

Should Djokovic and Alcaraz both get through their respective halves of the draw unscathed, they will battle it out in their third consecutive final in what will be a sensational end to the Grand Slam season of 2024. The draws have been circulated on the ATP, ITF, and US Open official sites and can be viewed here: 

🚨 𝗧𝗜𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗗𝗨 𝗧𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗨 𝗠𝗔𝗦𝗖𝗨𝗟𝗜𝗡 𝗔̀ 𝗟'#USOPEN

👉 Partie haute : Sinner, Alcaraz, Medvedev, Hurkacz

👉 Partie basse : Djokovic, Zverev, Rublev, Ruud

Début ce lundi. 🍿 pic.twitter.com/tCHgEENuwa

Early blockbuster matches in Flushing Meadows to kick off the US Open

With all eyes on the game’s biggest names currently at the US Open, some legends and former Grand Slam champions may go unnoticed. However, the likes of Dominic Thiem and Stan Wawrinka are set to put on a show for their fans very early on in the tournament. 

Dominic Thiem, who won his first and only Slam at this very event in 2020, is playing it for the last time, having announced that he will be retiring from tennis later this year. In one of the biggest first-round clashes this year, the former World No. 3 will face young American sensation Ben Shelton, who reached the semifinal last year.

Stan Wawrinka, a 3-time Grand Slam champion, has a third-round meeting with Jannik Sinner lined up. He will take on a qualifier in the first round and should he get through, he will face the winner of Christopher O’Connell and the 26th seed, Nicolas Jarry.

Semifinal predictions: Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev

Final predictions: Jannik Sinner/Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic

In case you missed it!

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