Raducanu to face Kenin to kick off US Open campaign

Britain’s Emma Raducanu will face fellow former grand slam winner Sofia Kenin in the first round of the US Open, which will be live on Sky Sports from Monday August 26.

It looks likely to be a tough beginning for 2021 US Open champion Raducanu at Flushing Meadows. If she is victorious against Kenin, she would likely come up against world No 6 Jessica Pegula in the second round.

There is new landscape in British tennis following the retirement of Andy Murray. This is the first grand slam since the Scot called time on his career, so the main focus will now be on Jack Draper, Katie Boulter and Raducanu.

Draper is seeded in the men’s draw and his run to the fourth round last year shows he is a threat on the American hard courts. He takes on China’s Zhizhen Zhang in his first match.

If the Briton wins through he is likely to face French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the third round.

Boulter, the women’s British No 1, will go up against a qualifier to begin her tournament. She could be on a collision course with Raducanu as if they both win their first two matches, they would play each other in the third round.

The fierce rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Alcaraz looks set to continue at Flushing Meadows, with Djokovic looking to get the better of the Spanish star and land a record 25th grand slam title.

Djokovic, who has not lifted a major trophy since winning at Flushing Meadows in 2023, beat his rival at the Olympics earlier this month but Alcaraz coasted to victory at Wimbledon a few weeks earlier.

Both Djokovic and Alcaraz will start off against qualifiers in their first matches.

The Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry has captured the imagination of the men’s game, but it is Jannik Sinner who comes into the tournament as the world No 1.

However, he is currently shrouded in controversy. The Italian has been cleared of any wrongdoing after failing two drugs tests earlier this year, with an investigation accepting Sinner’s explanation that the substance had accidentally entered his system via a product one of his team had used to treat a small wound.

Sinner will take to the court against the USA’s Mackenzie McDonald to open his campaign.

Defending champion Coco Gauff will play France’s Varvara Gracheva in her first match.

Gauff landed an emotional first grand slam title in New York last year, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open since Serena Williams in 1999.

She will be hoping the comparisons to Williams do not end there as she looks to dominate her home grand slam, where she will have the famously raucous crowd on her side.

However, she was the ninth different women’s champion in 10 years at this tournament, so it is anyone’s guess as to who will actually lift the title.

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Source : Sky Sports