OVERNIGHT the 2024 US Open kicks off with a wide open draw across both the men’s and women’s singles. We take a look at how the Flushing Meadows major is shaping up in our tournament preview.

Top eight seeds

The men’s singles sees reigning champion Novak Djokovic seeded second overall in his quest to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam. It has been unusual year for the former number one, having not won a title to-date, but has concentrated on the majors and huge tournaments.

Only one player is ranked above him in Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner, with the world number one having lost in the fourth round last year to Alexander Zverev. The German had the chance to moved into world number two with a title in Cincinnati but fell short, so will be fourth seed at Flushing Meadows, in Djokovic’s half of the draw.

Roland Garros and Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz will be gunning for a second US Open title, having won here in 2022, before going down to Russian Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals last year. Alcaraz will lineup as third seed at the tournament, while Medvedev is fifth seed and on a crash course for a quarter final against Sinner.

The other top eight seeds are fellow Russian Andrey Rublev – who found some form at Montreal, before reaching a quarter final at Cincinnati and taking a set off Sinner there – Pole Hubert Hurkacz and Norwegian Casper Ruud.

American assault?

The United States representatives always do well on home soil, typically performing the best at the US Open. Rewind 12 months ago and there were three Americans in the final eight, though Djokovic defeated both Taylor Fritz and then surprise semi-finalist Ben Shelton, while Shelton took care of Frances Tiafoe in the all-American quarter final.

Fast forward to 2024, and there are five Top 20 seeds from the home nation. Fritz (12th), Shelton (13th) and Tiafoe (20th) are all thereabouts, with Tommy Paul (14th) and Sebastian Korda (16th) in the mix too. Unfortunately for Shelton and Tiafoe, the draw has scheduled an eerily similar clash as last year, with the pair scheduled to face off in the third round before a Djokovic matchup in the Round of 16.

Fritz has a very winnable section, with Ruud his potential fourth round opponent, before a stiff quarter final up against Zverev likely awaits. One can never quite rule out the likes of Brandon Nakashima – who has Top 30 potential – and Alex Michelsen – coming off a final in Winston-Salem – but a second round clash awaits the American.

Who are the Aussies to watch for?

All eyes will be on top ranked Aussie Alex de Minaur who is 10th at the event and should breeze through to the third round with Marcos Giron followed by a qualifier in either Otto Virtanen or Quentin Halys his second round opponent. It gets significantly more difficult from there with 23rd seed and past US Open semi-finalist Karen Khachanov there in the third round, though Hurkacz is a winnable game for the Aussie in the Round of 16.

The sole qualifier from the Australian men in Li Tu has copped a nightmare first round matchup, going head-to-head with Alcaraz, while Thanasi Kokkinakis (11th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas) and James Duckworth (31st seed Flavio Cobolli) have both drawn seeds. The other seeded Australian in recent Cincinnati Open winner Alexei Popyrin, begins his campaign against Soonwoo Kwon with a third round match against Djokovic on the horizon

A couple of Aussies face each other in the first round with Max Purcell and Aleksandar Vukic taking on either Paul or recent Winston-Salem champion, Lorenzo Sonego in the second round. The other Australians in the men’s singles draw are Rinky Hijikata, Adam Walton, Christopher O’Connell, Jordan Thompson and Tristan Schoolkate.

PREDICTION

There are so many questions coming into the US Open as to how it might go. You have the one of the, if not greatest player in history gunning for a record 25th Grand Slam who is perhaps a touch underdone. There is also the new number one, and Italian who has fought through a hip injury of late to still collect a title and compete, while perhaps the biggest threat is a red-hot Spaniard keen to return to the top spot in the rankings.

If Alcaraz finds his best form, it is hard to look past the Spaniard, but a first round loss to Gael Monfils at Cincinnati was not ideal. However a Wimbledon title followed by an Olympic silver medal is a huge accomplishment for the 21-year-old.

Tip: Carlos Alcaraz to defeat Novak Djokovic in the final.