The 2014 U.S. Open will mark the crowning of a new men’s champion, while Serena Williams will be chasing a third consecutive victory in the women’s bracket. The first step in that process took place on Thursday as the draw for the tournament was announced.
U.S. Open draw 2014 announced: Serena Williams, Novak Djokovic get first look at opponents
The draws for the U.S. Open were announced on Thursday afternoon. Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic have a first look at their competition, while we get a first look at some compelling meetings later in the tournament.
Jonathan Moore
Williams, the No. 1 seed in the women’s bracket, will begin her quest for an 18th major championship with a matchup against Taylor Townsend. The defending champion could potentially be heading towards a quarterfinal meeting with No. 8 seeded Ana Ivanovic, who landed in Serena’s quadrant. Ivanovic will face Alison Riske in the opening round.
Serena’s bracket includes the third-seeded Petra Kvitova, who will face Kristina Mladenovic in the opening round. The bottom half of the bracket includes second-seeded Simona Halep and fourth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska, which sets the stage for a potentially compelling quarterfinal draw:
Projected #USOpen women's quarterfinals: Serena-Ivanovic Kvitova-Bouchard Kerber-Radwanska Sharapova-Halep.
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) August 21, 2014 Serena’s sister, Venus Williams, was ranked as the No. 19 seed and drew an opening round meeting with Kimiko Date-Krumm of Japan. Maria Sharapova, the tournament’s No. 5 seed, will open against Maria Kirilenko.
Here’s a complete look at the women’s bracket.
U.S. Open
The men’s bracket will be without reigning champion Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from the tournament due to a wrist injury. No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic and No. 2 seed Roger Federer take over top billing in his place. Djokovic has advanced to the final round of the U.S. Open in each of the last four years, but has only won the title once over that span.
The road to this year’s championship will be no easier, even without Nadal.
Djokovic’s quadrant includes Andy Murray, the last Open winner prior to Nadal (beating Djokovic in the 2012 Final), and third-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka. Djokovic will open the tournament against Diego Schwartzman, Murray will face Robin Haase, and Wawrinka will challenge Jiri Vesely. The top half of the bracket also has fifth-seeded Milos Raonic.
Federer’s bracket will include fourth-seeded David Ferrer and sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych. Federer will open the tournament against Marinko Matosevic and Ferrer will face Damir Dzumhur, while Berdych will challenge Lleyton Hewitt.
Here’s a complete look at the men’s bracket.
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