The U.S. Open men’s singles draw was revealed on Thursday afternoon, and it sets up a potential semifinal showdown between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Both future Hall of Famers are in the bottom half of the bracket along with Montreal winner Ben Shelton, Cincinnati champ Arthur Fils, and Cincy runner-up Frances Tiafoe. Shelton and Fils could go head-to-head as early as the fourth round.
Alcaraz’s first singles match since Barcelona in April will come against Roman Safiullin, already a proven giant killer who is no stranger to making deep runs at majors. The third-ranked Spaniard, who is just now returning from a wrist injury and looked decent during mixed doubles with Serena Williams, could meet Americans Jenson Brooksby in the second round and Tommy Paul in the fourth round.
The top half is weaker. It is home to No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 3 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Zverev’s first dangerous opponent could come in the form of Lorenzo Musetti in the last. Taylor Fritz and Rafael Jodar have favorable paths at least until the quarters. Both Fritz and Jodar have a good chance to reach the final if not even go all the way.
Stan Wawrinka, who secured a last-minute wild card after initially being denied one in very controversial fashion, arguably has the most interesting draw of any player in the 128-man field. Up first for the 41-year-old Swiss is a rematch with Matteo Berrettini after they squared off less than two months ago at Wimbledon — also in the first round, a showdown that Berrettini won 6-7(7), 7-6(16), 7-6(7), 7-6(5). Whoever prevails in the rematch will likely run into none other than Djokovic in round two.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.