Paired with Sabalenka against Fernandez and Tiafoe
A day before he takes the court in singles, Djokovic plays a far more unusual match. He is paired with Aryna Sabalenka in mixed doubles, the new format that became one of the main attractions of the so called Fan Week ahead of the main draw.
Their first round opponents are Leylah Fernandez and Frances Tiafoe, with the match set for Tuesday, August 25. The format is stripped down to the basics: sets are played to four games, no ad, and a 3-3 tie is decided by a match tiebreak to ten points. A single bad game can flip the whole thing there.
If Djokovic and Sabalenka get past the Americans, the next round brings the winner of Elina Svitolina and Gael Monfils against Alex Eala and Felix Auger-Aliassime. The same section of the draw also holds the pairing of Carlos Alcaraz and Serena Williams, who came back to the court after a long break specifically for this event, meaning the two pairs could in theory meet in the semifinals. The first round and quarterfinals of the mixed doubles are played on Tuesday, the semifinals and final the next day, Wednesday, and the winning pair takes home a million dollars.
What comes next
All of this follows naturally from what Djokovic had already been handed as a gift this week, Sinner’s withdrawal and Alcaraz’s uncertain return to form. The draw has opened a clear path to the semifinals, but Albot is not an opponent to take lightly at the start. Matches exactly like this one, against an unfamiliar player from the lower end of the rankings, are precisely where bigger names than his have gone out before.
The first real test comes next week, but before that there is Tuesday in New York, where Djokovic first takes the court with Sabalenka, and only then faces Albot on his own.