The year’s final Grand Slam is upon us, and the 2023 US Open draw is now available.
Carlos Alcaraz is leading the pack as the top seed. And there’s a bit of déjà vu in the air; he might square off with Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.
Remember their electrifying semi-final on Arthur Ashe last year? And speaking of familiar faces, Novak Djokovic is back for the first time since 2021, holding the fort in the bottom half as the second seed.
Up in the top half with Alcaraz is Daniil Medvedev, seeded third. While over in the bottom half, we’ve got the fourth seed, Holger Rune and last year’s finalist, Casper Ruud.
All the top American players—Taylor Fritz (9), Frances Tiafoe (10), Tommy Paul (14), Chris Eubanks (28), and Sebastian Korda (31) are nestled in the bottom half.
It’s been a while since American tennis has had this strength in depth, but whether any of them can be the first Grand Slam winner since Roddick still seems unlikely.
You can see the full draw below.
Tournament Info
Name: US Open
Dates: August 28 – September 10, 2023
Surface: Outdoor Hard Court
Draw: Singles 128 / Doubles 65
Category: Grand Slam
Total Prize Money: $65,000,020
US Open 2023 Seeds
Carlos Alcaraz
Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev
Holger Rune
Casper Ruud
Jannik Sinner
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Andrey Rublev
Taylor Fritz
Frances Tiafoe
Karen Khachanov
Alexander Zverev
Alex de Minaur
Tommy Paul
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Cameron Norrie
Hubert Hurkacz
Lorenzo Musetti
Grigor Dimitrov
Francisco Cerúndolo
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
Adrian Mannarino
Nicolás Jarry
Tallon Griekspoor
Alexander Bublik
Dan Evans
Borna Ćorić
Christopher Eubanks
Ugo Humbert
Tomás Martín Etcheverry
Sebastian Korda
Laslo Djere
2023 US Open Draw
Top Half
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Dominik Koepfer
Lloyd Harris vs Guido Pella
Botic Van de Zandschulp vs Jordan Thompson
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Daniel Evans (26)
Tallon Griekspoor (24) vs Arthur Fils
Jason Kubler vs Matteo Arnaldi
Thanasi Kokkinakis vs QUALIFIER2
Alexander Shevchenko vs Cameron Norrie (16)
Alexander Zverev (12) vs Aleksandar Vukic
Daniel Altmaier vs Constant Lestienne
Andy Murray vs Corentin Moutet
Alex Molcan vs Grigor Dimitrov (19)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry (30) vs QUALIFIER1
Stan Wawrinka vs Yoshihito Nishioka
QUALIFIER3 vs Lorenzo Sonego
Yannick Hanfmann vs Jannik Sinner (6)
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs Attila Balazs
Max Purcell vs Christopher O’Connell
Kei Nishikori vs QUALIFIER4
Sebastian Baez vs Borna Coric (27)
Nicolas Jarry (23) vs Luca van Assche
Albert Ramos-Vinolas vs Alex Michelsen
Yibing Wu vs Dusan Lajovic
QUALIFIER5 vs Alex de Minaur (13)
Karen Khachanov (11) vs Michael Mmoh
Facundo Diaz Acosta vs John Isner
Radu Albot vs Jack Draper
Marc-Andrea Huesler vs Hubert Hurkacz (17)
Ugo Humbert (29) vs Matteo Berrettini
Diego Schwartzman vs Arthur Rinderknech
QUALIFIER6 vs Gael Monfils
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Andrey Rublev (8)
Bottom Half
Casper Ruud (5) vs QUALIFIER7
Jeffrey John Wolf vs Zhizhen Zhang
Rinky Hijikata vs Pavel Kotov
Marton Fucsovics vs Sebastian Korda (31)
Adrian Mannarino (22) vs Yosuke Watanuki
Richard Gasquet vs Fabian Marozsan
Sebastian Ofner vs Nuno Borges
Learner Tien vs Frances Tiafoe (10)
Tommy Paul (14) vs QUALIFIER8
Roman Safiullin vs Marco Cecchinato
Ilya Ivashka vs Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Marcos Giron vs Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (21)
Alexander Bublik (25) vs Dominic Thiem
Pedro Cachin vs Ben Shelton
Aslan Karatsev vs Jiri Lehecka
Roberto Carballes Baena vs Holger Rune (4)
Stefanos Tsitsipas (7) vs Milos Raonic
QUALIFIER9 vs Alexei Popyrin
Quentin Halys vs Benjamin Bonzi
Soonwoo Kwon vs Christopher Eubanks (28)
Lorenzo Musetti (18) vs QUALIFIER10
QUALIFIER11 vs Gregoire Barrere
Miomir Kecmanovic vs Juan Pablo Varillas
Steve Johnson vs Taylor Fritz (9)
Felix Auger-Aliassime (15) vs Mackenzie McDonald
Hugo Dellien vs QUALIFIER12
Jiri Vesely vs QUALIFIER13
QUALIFIER14 vs Francisco Cerundolo (20)
Laslo Djere (32) vs Brandon Nakashima
QUALIFIER15 vs QUALIFIER16
Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs Ethan Quinn
Alexandre Muller vs Novak Djokovic (2)
Full PDF printable draw sheet.
Thoughts on the Draw
In the top half, Carlos Alcaraz is set to start against Dominik Koepfer, who isn’t in form but can play well, as Federer discovered a few years back at the French Open when they played behind closed doors.
Alcaraz could cross paths with Washington champion and 26th seed Daniel Evans in the third round and might face another Brit in Cameron Norrie by the fourth. Norrie is out of form but is one of the few players to notch a win against the 20-year-old Spaniard this season.
Sinner is Alcaraz’s seeded quarter-final opponent and one of the few capable of beating him on hard courts.
However, the journey will not be a walk in the park for the sixth-seeded Italian. He has big names like the 12th seed Alexander Zverev, 20th seed Grigor Dimitrov, and US Open champs Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka to contend with.
Sinner’s starts with Yannick Hanfmann, who has been a handful for all-comers this season and, if all goes to plan, might square off against Wawrinka in round three, which could be an exciting match with two huge hitters going toe to toe.
For that to happen, Stan first much see off Nishioka in round one, who can give him nightmares by chasing down his best shots so I am not confident he comes through that.
Also in the top half is Daniil Medvedev, who bagged the US Open title in 2021.
The Russian has been on a roll this year, picking up his first-ever clay-court ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Rome and making it to the Wimbledon semi-finals.
But his peak form came earlier in the season, winning four titles during a streak of reaching five consecutive finals, notably at Indian Wells and Miami.
However, his game style might mean he’s running on empty this far into the season, and he’s heading into New York off a somewhat average 3-2 record across Toronto and Cincinnati.
Medvedev’s set to start his US Open campaign against Attila Balazs. Following that, he’ll face an Aussie, either afgainst the in form Max Purcell or Christopher O’Connell, in the second round. And looking further ahead, there might be a third-round clash with 27th seed Borna Coric.
Friend and compatriot Andrey Rublev, seeded eighth, will be hoping to deliver a payback in his challenging opener against Emil Ruusuvuori, who just edged him out in a third-set tiebreak in Cincinnati last week.
Gael Monfils, making a comeback to the US Open after sitting out the 2022 edition, is up against a qualifier. He could square off against the winner of the Rublev-Ruusuvuori match in round two.
Ugo Humbert versus 2019 US Open semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini is also an interesting first-round match in this section.
The third quarter has a Scandinavian takeover, with Rune and Ruud landing in this section. They could clash for the seventh time in the quarterfinals.
Rune is set to kick things off against Roberto Carballes Baena, while Ruud, who’s reached the finals in three of his last six Grand Slams, will start his tournament against a yet-to-be-decided qualifier.
This section also has plenty of homegrown talent. Seeded players like the returning semi-finalist Tiafoe and Paul and Korda are in the mix.
Alongside several unseeded Americans: Ben Shelton, J.J. Wolf, Marcos Giron, and Learner Tien. The latter is gearing up to face Tiafoe right in the first round.
Then, there’s 2020 US Open winner Dominic Thiem, who will play the 25th seed Alexander Bublik in what could be an entertaining match.
However, Thiem has played zero lead in tournaments, withdrawing from Winston-Salem due to a stomach problem, so his current status is relatively unknown.
Finally, in the bottom quarter, Novak Djokovic is the second seed. The 23-time Grand Slam champion made an unbelievable return to the American hard courts last week in Cincinnati, winning a remarkable final in three sets to overcome Alcaraz.
He is set to face Alexandre Muller in the opening round, and a win would ensure his position as the world No. 1 following the US Open, irrespective of Alcaraz’s outcome.
The struggling Felix Auger-Aliassime is predicted to be Djokovic’s fourth-round adversary based on seeding, but the 15th-seeded Canadian first has the challenge of the on-song Mackenzie McDonald. The American made it to his inaugural Masters 1000 quarterfinal earlier this month in Toronto, defeating Rublev en route.
Stefanos Tsitsipas, unexpectedly ousted in the first round by Daniel Elahi Galan last year in New York, faces another stern initial challenge against Milos Raonic.
Tsitsipas. the seventh seed, hopes to progress past the third round for the first time in his sixth US Open main-draw appearance—a pretty poor record for a player with his serve and forehand.
There’s also plenty of American representation in this fourth quarter, with Taylor Fritz taking compatriot Steve Johnson, whilst Chris Eubanks squares off against Soonwoo Kwon, hoping to emulate his run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Eubanks defeated Tsitsipas in the fourth round at SW19, and they could have a potential rematch in the third round.
Notable First Round Matches
Daniel Elahi Galan vs Daniel Evans
Andy Murray vs Corentin Moutet
Stan Wawrinka vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Karen Khachanov vs Michael Mmoh
Ugo Humber vs Matteo Berrettini
Andrey Rublev vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Alexander Bublik vs Dominic Thiem
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs Mackenzie McDonald
The main draw commences on Monday, 28th August. Which matches are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments.