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The release of the men’s draw for the US Open 2022 was obviously a highly anticipated event. And now that qualifying has been wrapped up, we know exactly who the 128 players are for the final slam of the year. For that reason, now is perhaps the best time to take a closer look at the men’s draw. And because of that, I will be covering the main seeds, the best of the opening rounds, and what we could witness as the tournament progresses.
Note that the first-round matches and seeds mentioned here are 100% confirmed. In addition, the tournament will begin on Monday, August 29th, for those who need a gentle reminder. Anyway, my focus here is to provide a full overview of the men’s 2022 US Open draw, so let me get started right away.
A Breakdown of the 2022 US Open Men’s Draw
Contents
The 2022 men’s US Open is made up of 128 players, 32 of which are seeded. The seeds have been allocated to certain sections of the draw, and the rest was generated randomly. This is always the way that things get done concerning draws for tennis tournaments. And of course, the respective qualifiers have been put into the available spots in the draw too. As stated previously, we now know who these qualifiers are too, as qualifying came to a close on Friday.
With that in mind, the full draw is now available, so let us take a look at what’s in store.
Major Seeds
As you now know, the draw for the US Open has 32-seeded players. But not all of them have a truly realistic chance of winning the tournament. So rather than running through every single seed in the men’s draw, let me concentrate on the top five seeds. You can see a list of these five guys right here:
- Daniil Medvedev – 1st seed
- Rafael Nadal – 2nd seed
- Carlos Alcaraz – 3rd seed
- Stefanos Tsitsipas – 4th seed
- Casper Ruud – 5th seed
Due to the absence of Alex Zverev, who is the current number 2 in the world, all of the guys from seeds 2-5 have been bumped up. For example, Nadal is the world number 3, yet he is seeded 2 at the US Open due to Zverev’s withdrawal. And because Novak Djokovic is not going to compete at the US Open 2022, Casper Ruud has moved into the 5th spot. As for their positions in the draw, Medvedev and Nadal are on opposite sides of the draw. This means they can only play in the finals if they both made it there.
As for the others, Alcaraz is in Nadal’s half and Tsitsipas is in Medvedev’s half. Casper Ruud is also in the top half, and he could play Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals if they both made it there.
Epic First Round Matches
The only matches that we can be sure will happen are the first rounds. After all, while we have a good idea of who will make it through to the second round, nothing is certain. Upsets do happen early on in these tournaments, so we cannot assume that anything is 100% promised. And that’s why I wanted to dedicate one part of this draw review to the first-round clashes. Of course, I’ve analyzed the draw to come up with a list of the most exciting first-round games. So if you want to know what games to tune in for, check these matches out:
Carreno-Busta vs Thiem
Of all the first-round games, I think that this has the potential to be the most thrilling. Thiem is a previous US Open winner, and Carreno-Busta is in the form of his life. Now, Thiem has been struggling to find the kind of form that carried him to the title in 2020. However, if he does find that spark, this could be a fascinating encounter.
Kyrgios vs Kokkinakis
Kyrgios needs no introduction when it comes to his talent and his entertainment value on court. And usually, you’d expect a comfortable opening round for him in a major event. But that isn’t the case, as he is taking on his long-term friend, Kokkinakis. I would expect Kyrgios to pull through this match, but there is always some added spice when two friends and countrymen are competing.
Cerundolo vs Murray
It feels as though time is running out for Andy Murray to do something special in major events. And I must say, he hasn’t exactly been given an easy draw here, not by any means. Francisco Cerundolo is a very dangerous player with one of the biggest forehands on tour. So Murray will need to be at the top of his game to take him down.
Schwartzman vs Sock
Jack Sock is an interesting one. People forget that he was a top 10 player just a few short years ago. And he still has one of the biggest games around, especially from the forehand wing. This match against Schwartzman has the potential to be an epic grind too, especially with the style of play that Schwartzman has.
Matchups to Watch Out for Later in the Event
Starting with the bottom section of the draw, I can see a huge game on the cards for the third round. We could see Alcaraz take on the Cincinnati champion, Borna Coric. And this has the potential to be an epic match if Coric maintains the form that took him to the Cincinnati title. Also in the bottom half, I can see a potential clash involving Jannik Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov, which could happen in the third round.
Then for the top half, there is the possibility of a 4th round match involving Daniil Medvedev and Nick Kyrgios. This would be a very tasty match to watch, especially since Kyrgios beat Medvedev in their previous meeting. You’ve also got a possible 4th round encounter involving Berrettini and Tsitsipas. I would love to see that one, and with the way that Tsitsipas has been playing, it could go the way of the Greek. Either way, this would be a fantastic match to see.
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