The draw frames the US Open around two competing possibilities: Alcaraz can quickly reassert himself after injury, or his uncertain match fitness can create an opening for Djokovic and the rest of the field. For Britain’s Arthur Fery, the focus is less on title calculations than on whether he can turn a difficult first-round assignment into another breakthrough.

Alcaraz’s return is the central unknown as the defending champion prepares to face Roman Safiullin in New York. Djokovic, meanwhile, has a clearer immediate task against Mariano Navone but could encounter a far more testing route soon after.

The differing emphasis in coverage reflects the draw’s central tension. One account casts Alcaraz’s opener as the “first serious examination of his fitness” after more than four months without a competitive singles match because of inflammation in his right wrist.¹ Another notes that Safiullin is not simply a gentle re-entry: he beat Alcaraz at the 2023 Paris Masters, leaving their head-to-head record level at one win apiece.²

That uncertainty makes the potential Alcaraz-Djokovic meeting especially significant. They have been placed in the same half, meaning any showdown would come before the final.³ Djokovic, seeking a record 25th Grand Slam singles title, opens against Argentina’s Navone and could then face Matteo Berrettini or Stan Wawrinka, who is set for his final major appearance.¹

Fery’s draw provides a smaller-scale version of the same challenge. The Wimbledon semi-finalist, unseeded after narrowly missing a place among the seeds, meets Italy’s 13th seed Musetti, described as a “formidable opening assignment.”² The broader reports agree that it is a stern test, though they also place it in the context of Fery’s rapid rise into the top 40 and his first US Open main-draw appearance.¹

Elsewhere, top seed Alexander Zverev begins against Lorenzo Sonego after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal, while women’s defending champion Aryna Sabalenka opens against Camila Osorio.¹