These are the first-round matches you should watch at the US Open

The final tennis Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, got started on Monday with a slate of first-round matchups, and the field is about as prepared and uninjured as one could hope at this point of the season.

Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka are in a tournament together for the first time this year. Serena Williams made her return to New York after missing the tournament last year due to the birth of her child. There are a slew of young, hungry players ready to take on the old guard.

Different players have won each of the Grand Slams already this season — Federer, Nadal and Djokovic took the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon, respectively. On the women’s side, Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep and Angelique Kerber were the winners of those tournaments.

The first round played out on Monday, and we’ve left those match descriptions intact, in addition to highlighting some of the first-round matches you should be watching on Tuesday.

Roger Federer vs. Yoshihito Nishioka

At this point, Federer’s opener of any Grand Slam is extremely important because everything about his style of play is centered around longevity. He’s made several career decisions, like skipping the clay season, to increase his chances of winning the other majors. But he needs to get out of the first rounds without multiple five-setters, unlike last year’s tournament.

Frances Tiafoe vs. Adrian Mannarino

Tiafoe has had some hard luck at the US Open in the past — drawing No. 22 Viktor Troicki, No. 20 John Isner and No. 3 Roger Federer in the first round the last three times out, meaning the American has not won a single match at the tournament. But two of those matches went five sets, including last year’s match against Federer. They were thrilling contests, and he’s drawn another seeded player in Adrian Mannarino, who he should have a better chance of beating.

Caroline Garcia vs. Johanna Konta

Konta is a very interesting player — she was incredible in 2017, but has been inconsistent in 2018. She’s the one who handed Serena Williams the most lopsided loss of her career earlier this year, while Garcia is settling in as a consistent top-10 player. Konta is certainly one of the toughest first-round draws of the tournament, and should make for a competitive matchup.

Nick Kyrgios vs. Radu Albot

Kyrgios fell to John Millman in the first round of the US Open a year ago, and has struggled at the tournament in general. He should be very good on the hard courts in New York, but Albot upsetting him wouldn’t be the most surprising thing.

Naomi Osaka vs. Laura Siegemund

Osaka is quickly becoming must-watch tennis at this point. The 20th-seeded 20-year-old out of Japan has played the veteran Siegemund three times in the past, with Siegemund winning two of those. Osaka won the last time they faced each other though, on the clay courts in Charleston. They’ve played on hard courts once before, with Siegemund winning, though that was their first contest back in 2016.

Denis Shapovalov vs. Felix Auger Aliassime (Shapovalov won, 7-5, 5-7, 4-1 (ret.)

We’ll start with one more casual fans might not be aware of — these two Canadians were junior doubles partners and are good friends. They also happen to be two of the best young talents in the sport, and though it’s a shame one of them will be going home so early, their first-round match should produce fireworks. The two have never played each other in a tournament match, and played together as doubles partners as recently as Toronto, where they fell to the pairing of Anderson and Djokovic.

Shapovalov broke out when he made it to the fourth round at the US Open a year ago, and has also had plenty of highs this season, but he’s still searching for the consistency needed from a top player. Auger Aliassime is looking to break out for the first time. Expect a good one Monday.

Andy Murray vs. James Duckworth (Murray won, 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-5, 6-3)

Duckworth is a long way away from his highest world ranking of 82, as he’s all the way down to 448 going into the US Open, which he only made it into with the withdrawal of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Most believe Murray, the former world No. 1, will handle Duckworth, but the intriguing aspect of this match is ... well, injuries.

Murray has been up and down for well over a year and has had multiple surgeries, hence him being unseeded. He backed out of the US Open last year, and backed out of Wimbledon at the last minute as well. Duckworth has had even more surgeries than Murray of late, and the two have never faced each other. Both know what it feels like to fall far from injuries, and both will be incredibly motivated when they face off.

Rafael Nadal vs. David Ferrer

Ferrer has struggled with injuries and has always been doubted due to his size — but he made the tennis world realize long ago that he’s more than capable of hanging with the best when he made his way to world No. 3.

Recently, he hasn’t been playing his best tennis, or even looked as good as he was when he bested Nadal in their only prior US Open meeting in 2007, but he plans to call it a career at the end of this season. He’s said in interviews that he’s excited to be playing Nadal, a good friend and someone he has played 30 times before, in his final Grand Slam. Ferrer’s last match against Nadal was at the ATP finals in 2015. His last win over Nadal came in Monte Carlo in 2014. Nadal holds a 24-6 edge over Ferrrer.

Stan Wawrinka vs. Grigor Dimitrov (Wawrinka won, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5)

Dimitrov was favored when he met Wawrinka in the first round of Wimbledon earlier this year, but he wound up eliminated in said opener when Wawrinka took four sets, dropping the first and winning two of them via tiebreak. It was the seventh time they met as professionals, with Dimitrov holding a 4-3 edge over Wawrinka. We have Dimitrov looking for revenge, and Wawrinka looking to continue his resurgence.

Serena Williams vs. Magda Linette (Williams won, 6-4, 6-0)

Williams has looked plenty good since her return to tennis, making it to the Wimbledon final before losing to Angelique Kerber. Williams will continue to be a player to watch until she retires, obviously, but these tournaments as she continues to get back into winning form are even more interesting. Williams is well-loved in New York as well, and the crowd there will be eager to give her support after a year away. Williams is currently ranked 26th in the world, while Linette is ranked 68th, though the two have never played each other before.

Svetlana Kuznetsova vs. Venus Williams (Williams won, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3)

Venus and Serena were drawn into the same quarter, and thus could meet in the third round if both win their opening two matchups. The Williams sisters’ rivalry is always worth watching, but these two have faced each other 10 times before, with an even 5-5 split between them.

They last played on the hard courts of the Miami Masters in 2017, where Williams won in straight sets, but needed a tiebreak in the second. Kuznetsova won the match prior to that, in 2016 and also on a hard court. All but one of their matches against one another have ended in straight sets, but most have been very entertaining to watch. Kuznetsova has looked in good shape this season, and won the Washington Open earlier this month.