2016 US Open: Rio Olympics standouts Monica Puig, Juan Martin Del Potro have good draw

Monica Puig and Juan Martin Del Potro were the players nobody wanted to play at the Rio Olympics. Both players were unseeded, but dominated their early-round opponents, with Puig completely pummeling Garbine Muguruza in the third round and Del Potro unseating top seed Novak Djokovic in the first round.

Puig went on to best Angelique Kerber, the Olympics’ second seed, in the finals to win Puerto Rico’s first ever gold medal. Del Potro came close to earning a gold as well, but fell to Andy Murray in five sets in the gold medal match, taking a silver medal home for Argentina.

But despite their great success in the Summer Games, neither player will enter the US Open as one of the top seeds. Puig comes in as the 32nd-seeded woman, while Del Potro is unseeded entirely. Many making predictions talk about potential quarterfinals and semifinals matchups -- where players like Serena Williams, Djokovic, Andy Murray and the like will end up -- but there was also plenty of talk before the draw of avoiding both Del Potro and Puig.

Both players are playing some of the best tennis of their careers, and it would have been a tough ask for top players to face them in the opening round. Of course, it also would have been a tough break for both players to face a top seed in their first match as well.

Del Potro ended up being drawn against Diego Schwartzman in the opening round, which is a relief for him and bad news for Schwartzman. If Del Potro advances through, he could immediately start upsetting seeded competition. American Steve Johnson, the 19th seed, would face Del Potro in the second round if they both advanced. In the third round, Del Potro could conceivably play David Ferrer, the men’s No. 11 seed.

Puig drew unseeded Sasai Zheng in the opening round, and if she advances to the second round she would face one of two other unseeded opponents. But in the third round, a meeting with Muguruza is possible, and despite Puig’s domination of her at the Olympics, it would be a tough out. Muguruza would surely be favored, but tennis fans at large should be hopeful the match comes to fruition and Puig continues her high level of play.

Making it further than that, Puig could have Johanna Konta or Belinda Bencic to deal with in the fourth round and potentially Madison Keys after that. It’s a tough draw overall, but other than Muguruza, Puig has a solid chance of making a deep run at the US Open. Del Potro could also make it far, but he has higher seeds to deal with early overall, with Dominic Thiem potentially waiting for him before the quarterfinals as well.

Since this year’s Wimbledon, Del Potro has defeated three of the US Open’s top four seeds, and Puig is coming off a Summer Games where she downed three Grand Slam champions. Both will be riding a wave of momentum, and the US Open draw is neither wide open nor particularly tough for either. It should be a fascinating tournament.