THE final grand slam of the tennis calendar has arrived, with everything riding on the US Open hard courts for many players. With plenty of in-form players making the cut and some huge omissions from the ranks, we preview the ins and outs of the men’s draw and which players to watch.

Looking down the seeds, a couple of champions are missing from the fray with both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer sitting out of the event, while 2020 champion Dominic Thiem has also opted out following injury setbacks. Most notably, this opens up the top-end of the draw to some potential upsets, with Novak Djokovic the only remaining member of the ‘big three’ taking the court here and looking to take out his fourth grand slam for the year. But Djokovic is not unbeatable – despite his dominance especially on the hard surface – and will have a number of players vying for his head at this year’s event.

Overall, there are a couple of viable options who could beat Djokovic, and just as many who will challenge him but come up short. Overall, second seed Daniil Medvedev is capable of anything on his day, while Stefanos Tsitsipas and gold medalist Alexander Zverev have both defeated Djokovic before – Zverev more recently when he knocked the Serbian from Golden Slam contention at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Zverev also came up short here against Thiem during the 2020 final, meaning the German will be raring to go. The top 10 rankings have seen plenty of movement over the past six months making things interesting with three of the top talents missing out, a a number of young guns look to make their move on the big stage.

Looking to Djokovic’s quarter of the draw, and realistically there is not too much to worry him, taking on Danish young gun Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune first up with 14th seed Australian Alex de Minaur the highest ranked player Djokovic could come up against before the semi-finals. While the Australian has plenty of talent, he has lacked consistency this season and been shaky against high-level players – something that bodes well for the world number one. A potential third round match could see Djokovic and Kei Nishikori shape up, while Aslan Karatsev is in great form and Jenson Brooksby will look to continue his sharp rise, earning a wildcard to the event for his main draw debut. Djokovic has a fairly simple track to another grand slam final, with the next highest world ranking Matteo Berrettini in sixth seeding, sitting at the bottom end of that half of the draw.

Realistically, looking at this draw and the amount of talent on offer, the biggest question to pose is who is most likely to meet Djokovic in the final, with only one of Djokovic and Zverev able to make it there with the same going for Medvedev and Tsitsipas. Andrey Rublev has also been a force to be reckoned with as a couple more Russians earned seeding for favourable draws. Rublev is seeded fifth with Berrettini in sixth, joined by Canadian Denis Shapovalov (seventh), Norwegian Casper Ruud (eighth), Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta (ninth) and Pole Hubert Hurkacz rounding out the top 10, ranked 13th overall.

Looking to tough first round matches, 24th seed Daniel Evans will have his work cut out for him against Spanish teen Carlos Alcaraz, who has impressed this season on both hard and clay surfaces. Tsitsipas will require a victory over former champion Andy Murray to head through to the second round in a hugely intriguing encounter, while 25th seed Karen Khachanov will take on power hitter Lloyd Harris in an intriguing battle, and 19th seeded American John Isner will look to power past compatriot Brandon Nakashima. Youngsters Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jannik Sinner will look to showcase their continued workrate while veteran Gael Monfils is at the other end of the spectrum in what could potentially be his final grand slam.

Picture credit: Andrew Ong/USTA