Draper starts US Open campaign against qualifier

British men’s number one Jack Draper has been handed a US Open first-round match against a still-to-be-determined qualifier as he looks to eclipse last year’s breakout Grand Slam run in New York.

Draper, 23, lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals – and the fifth seed may have to face the Italian world number one again in this year’s quarter-finals.

Emma Raducanu, who is Britain’s leading women’s player, will also begin against a qualifier as she returns once again to the scene of her unforgettable title triumph in 2021.

Raducanu, 22, could come up against 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who she recently played doubles with in Washington, in the third round.

Four other Britons have earned direct entry to the singles draws through their ranking.

Katie Boulter and Sonay Kartal have both been drawn against seeded players – Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk and Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia respectively – in their first-round matches.

Unseeded Cameron Norrie has been paired with another dangerous floater in American Sebastian Korda, while Jacob Fearnley faces Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut.

The burning question in the men’s singles is an obvious one – who can stop Sinner and Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz carving up another Grand Slam title between them?

The pair have surged well clear of the rest of the ATP Tour in terms of quality over the past two seasons, forging a compelling rivalry which looks set to dominate in the coming years.

Nobody has managed to stop Sinner and Alcaraz sharing the past seven major titles, underlining their superiority by contesting the past two finals at the French Open and Wimbledon.

Sinner, 24, pulled out of their Cincinnati final on Monday through illness but was practising at Flushing Meadows on Thursday.

Novak Djokovic, who goes again for a standalone record 25th Grand Slam title, remains the third favourite, despite age seemingly catching up with the 38-year-old Serb.

Djokovic has not won a major since the 2023 US Open, coming up short against Sinner in the business end at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year.

The seventh seed can not face Sinner until the final, having been put in 22-year-old Alcaraz’s side of the draw instead.

If Djokovic is to finally move clear of Margaret Court in terms of major titles, he might have to beat Alcaraz – who won the first of his five major titles at Flushing Meadows in 2022 – in the semi-finals.

Both Djokovic and Alcaraz, however, have landed tricky-looking opponents in the first round.

Women’s singles:

Aryna Sabalenka [1] v Rebeka Masarova (Swi)

Barbora Krejcikova (Cze) v Victoria Mboko [22] (Can)

Venus Williams (US) v Karolina Muchova (Cze) [11]

Petra Kvitova (Cze) v Diane Parry (Fra)

Ajla Tomljanovic (Aus) v Coco Gauff (US) [3]

Amanda Anisimova (US) [8] v Kimberley Birrell (Aus)

Emiliana Arango (Col) v Iga Swiatek (Pol) [2]

Full women’s singles draw

Men’s singles

Jannik Sinner (Ita) [1] v Vit Kopriva (Cze)

Alexander Bublik (Kaz) [23] v Marin Cilic (Cro)

Lorenzo Musetti (Ita) [10] v Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (Fra)

Alexander Zverev (Ger) [3] v Alejandro Tabilo (Chi)

Novak Djokovic (Ser) [7] v Learner Tien (US)

Emilio Nava (US) v Taylor Fritz (US) [4]

Ben Shelton (US) [6] v Qualifier

Reilly Opelka (US) v Carlos Alcaraz [2] (Spa)