2017 U.S. Open Men's and Women's Draws Released
The 2017 U.S. Open men's and women's draws were released on Friday at the Seaport District in New York City.
Rafael Nadal and Karolina Pliskova are the top two seeds in the men's and women's singles draws, respectively. Nadal is a two-time winner of the U.S. Open, while Pliskova reached the final last year. The Spaniard will open against Dusan Lajovic, while Pliskova, who is seeking her first Grand Slam title, will face Magda Linette in the first round.
In the first round, World No. 2 SimonaHalep will start against wildcard Maria Sharapova, who is making her return to Grand Slam play after a 15-month doping ban. Last year's champion Angelique Kerber will open against Naomi Osaka and No. 3 Garbine Muguruza will face American Varvara Lepchenko. Venus Williams will start her U.S. Open campaign against a qualifier.
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Second-seed Andy Murray opens against Tennys Sandgren, while World No. 3 Roger Federer will start his U.S. Open campaign against young American Frances Tiafoe. Federer landed in Nadal's section of the draw, meaning the pair—who have never played against each other at the U.S. Open—would only be able to meet in the semifinals. Alexander Zverev will meet a qualifier in the first round, while Marin Cilic faces Frenchman Gilles Simon.
The projected women's quarterfinals are: Pliskova vs. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Elina Svitolina vs. Kerber, Muguruza vs. Caroline Wozniacki and Halep vs. Johanna Konta. On the men's side, the projected quarterfinals are: Nadal vs. Grigor Dimitrov, Federer vs. Dominic Thiem, Zverev vs. Marin Cilic and Murray vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
The 2017 U.S. Open will be without Serena Williams, who remains sidelined due to her pregnancy. Several top men's players—Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka, KeiNishikori and Milos Raonic—are skipping the event due to injury.
