The Spanish Rafael Nadal will debut at the US Open 2022 against the Australian Rinky Hijikata, number 198 in the world ranking, while his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz will debut against the Argentine Sebastián Báez, number 37, according to the draw for the draw held this Thursday.
The British Cameron Norrie and the Russian Andrey Rublev appear as possible rivals of Nadal in a hypothetical quarterfinal, while the Italian Jannik Sinner and the Pole Hubert Hurkacz are potentially in the way of Alcaraz, who would not face Nadal until the semifinals.
The New York tournament will not feature this year Serbian Novak Djokovic, three-time champion and finalist last year, who resigned from participating a few hours before the draw, unable to enter the United States due to his refusal to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Nadal could face the Argentine Diego Schwartzman in a hypothetical duel in the round of 16, while, on the other side of the table, the Russian Daniil Medvedev, current champion, has a possible semifinal with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on the horizon.
Nadal could face the Russian Aslan Karatsev or the Italian Fabio Fognini in the second round and shares a side of the draw with Carlos Alcaraz, who could have a second round with the Argentine Federico Coria or the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
After falling in his debut in Cincinnati against Croatian Borna Coric, eventual champion, Nadal will fight in Flushing Meadows for his fifth crown and his debut will be against a Hijikata who enters the main draw with an invitation letter.
The Spaniard, who only played one match since the last Wimbledon tournament due to an abdominal injury, has on paper a possible crossover with Schwartzman in the round of 16 and with Cameron Norrie, seventh seed, or Andrey Rublev, ninth seed, in the quarterfinals.
Potentially, there could be a Spanish semi-final with third-seeded Alcaraz. The Murcian, winner of the Masters 1,000 in Miami and Madrid this year, has a demanding draw, with a possible fourth round against Coric, an eighth against the Croatian Marin Cilic and a quarter against the Italian Jannik Sinner or the Polish Hubert Hurkacz.
On the other side of the draw, reigning champion Medvedev will face American Stefan Kozlov in the first round and could meet Spain’s Roberto Bautista in the round of 16.
If he advances, he could face Canadian Felix Auger Aliassime, the sixth seed, in the quarterfinals and fourth-seeded Tsitsipas in the semifinals. It would be the reissue of the semifinals of the Cincinnati tournament, in which the Greek came out the winner before losing the final to Coric.
The Spanish Pablo Carreño, recent champion of the Masters 1,000 in Montreal, will have a first round against the Austrian Dominic Thiem, champion of this tournament in 2020. Since then, Thiem has had a process of involution and now occupies position 231 in the world ranking .
It will not be Djokovic, who communicated with a tweet his resignation for not complying with the current vaccination requirement in the United States for non-citizens.
Djokovic, a three-time champion in New York and a finalist last year, has not been able to play the 2022 American tour, both at the opening and at the end of the season, due to his refusal to be vaccinated. The Serbian, winner of 21 ‘majors’, could not play the last Australian Open either for the same reason.
The Spanish Paula Badosa, number 4 in the world ranking, will debut at the US Open against the Ukrainian Jelena Ostapenko, while her compatriot Garbiñe Muguruza will debut against the Danish Clara Tauson, according to the draw held this Thursday.
Badosa has on the horizon a possible quarter-final meeting with the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, Wimbledon champion this year and winner of the US Open in 2019, while Muguruza shares a side of the draw with the Polish Iga Swiatek, number 1 in the world. .
The British Emma Raducanu, the last winner of the tournament, was also framed on the same side of the draw as Badosa.
