U.S. Open 2011: Full Draws For Tournament Released

The 2011 U.S. Open is set to get underway Monday as planned. There will be no delay associated with Hurricane Irene, which moved up the east coast causing millions of dollars in damage this weekend. The U.S. Open takes place annually at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. Though New York was hit Sunday by Irene, the impact was not as severe as some had feared. By the time Irene hit the state, it had been downgraded to a tropical storm and wind speeds had fallen to 65 miles per hour from 100 mph.

U.S. Tennis Association is still in contact with New York City officials to make sure that road conditions and the mass transit system will be okay for fans heading to the tournament. Matches are set to begin at 11 a.m. ET.

To the surprise of almost no one, Novak Djokovic was named the No. 1 seed of the 2011 U.S. Open. Djokovic is currently the ATP’s top-ranked player and the U.S. Open went directly off those rankings to determine their 32 seedings. Rafael Nadal, the tournament’s defending champion, was named the No. 2 seed; five-time U.S. Open winner Roger Federer was named the No. 3 seed; and 2008 runner-up Andy Murray is the No. 4 seed. Mardy Fish is the top seeded American at No. 8, with Andy Roddick (No. 21) and John Isner (No. 28) being the only other Americans to be seeded.

The No. 1 U.S. Open seeding is merely a continuation of what has been an amazing year for Djokovic, who has compiled a 57-2 record heading into the tournament. Of his nine titles this season, five were ATP World Tour Master Series events and two were grand slams -- the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Djokovic now has three grand slams in his career. He has twice advanced to the finals of the U.S. Open, falling to Nadal last year and to Federer in 2007.

The women’s seedings for the 2011 U.S. Open have been released, and unsurprisingly Caroline Wozniacki landed the top seed in the tournament. Rounding out the Top 5 are Vera Zvonareva and Maria Sharapova of Russia, Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic. Serena Williams drew the No. 28 seed, using a special injury ranking to enter the field.

Wozniacki will enter the tournament as the top seed for the second year in a row. Wozniacki has been struggling of late, recently losing to American wild card Christina McHale 6-4, 7-5 at the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati. She is seeking the first Grand Slam title of her career in what should be a competitive pack. Kvitova enters as the reigning Wimbledon champ, and 6th-seed Li Na of China comes in having won the 2011 French Open.