The draw ceremony for the 2019 US Open is over. The men’s US Open draw is out. Who got lucky and which player is in for a real nightmare? Which star can swiftly move to the latter stages and who will have to overcome in-form opponents? Here are our picks for the biggest winners and losers of the draw ceremony. Let’s start from the ones that gained the most:
Men’s US Open Draw
Consider yourself lucky
1. Daniil Medvedev (5th seed)
Medvedev will not be too happy with drawing Djokovic in the quarterfinals, but looking at the draw and the Russian’s recent results, he’s almost a lock to get there.
Medvedev’s projected path to the semifinals:
R1 – Gunneswaran; R2 – Dellien/qualifier; R3 – Fritz; R4 – Fognini/Basilashvili; QF – Djokovic
2. Roger Federer (3rd seed)
Although he got drawn in Djokovic’s half, he has a much easier road than the Serb and won’t face my players who can test his fitness in the slow and humid conditions.
Federer’s projected path to the semifinals:
R1 – qualifier; R2 – Dzumhur/qualifier; R3 – Pouille; R4 – Pella/Goffin; QF – Nishikori
3. Kei Nishikori (7th seed)
The runner-up from five years ago played very well in the Wimbledon quarterfinals against Roger Federer and a rematch of that might be on the cards here, where the conditions would be much better for the Japanese. The only in-form player waiting for Nishikori on his way to the quarters is Alex De Minaur, along with a couple of sleepers like Raonic or Coric, who have struggled recently.
Nishikori’s projected path to the semifinals:
R1 – qualifier; R2 – Monteiro/Klahn; R3 – De Minaur; R4 – Coric/Raonic; QF – Federer
Uh uh, not so much
1. Novak Djokovic (1st seed)
The Serbian got the one player that everyone wanted to avoid–Daniil Medvedev–in the quarterfinals. The rest of his draw is also filled with matchups that can be potentially tricky. Whoever comes out of a section of Wawrinka/Anderson/Hurkacz will be battle-tested and they have all shown they can hurt Djokovic in the past.
Djokovic’s projected path to the semifinals:
R1 – Carballes Baena; R2 – Querrey; R3 – Lajovic; R4 – Wawrinka/Anderson; QF – Medvedev
2. Alexander Zverev
When struggling with your form and so low on confidence, you certainly don’t want to be dealt a tough matchup. This is a draw for which Zverev will have to be ready from the get-go, and he hasn’t looked like he can recently.
Zverev’s projected path to the semifinals:
R1 – Albot; R2 – Karlovic/Tiafoe; R3 – Paire; R4 – Khachanov/Schwartzman; QF – Nadal
3. Stefanos Tsitsipas (8th seed)
The Greek has lost his opening match in four of his last six tournaments, and he was handed one of the toughest first round draws he could get–Andrey Rublev, who smashed Federer off the court in Cincinnati. On top of that, there are many extremely dangerous hot shots like Nick Kyrgios or Felix Auger-Aliassime waiting for Tsitsipas in the later rounds.
Tsitsipas’s projected path to the semifinals:
R1 – Rublev; R2 – Simon/Fratangelo; R3 – Kyrgios; R4 – Auger-Aliassime/Monfils; QF – Thiem
Disagree with our picks? Feel free to comment below, and start a discussion.
Main Photo from Getty.
