The 2017 U.S. Open draw ceremony was held on Friday afternoon in New York City. Roger Federer’s placement in the bracket was always going to be the big story, and it certainly is: he could face Rafael Nadal in the semis rather than the final. If that showdown comes to fruition, it would mark the first-ever Federer vs. Nadal match at the U.S. Open.
Federer’s road to the final four, though, is far from easy. The 36-year-old Swiss will open against Frances Tiafoe and he could run into Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round. Potential quarterfinal foes for Federer include Dominic Thiem, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Roberto Bautista Agut.
Nadal seemingly has a friendlier section. The top-ranked Spaniard will kick off his campaign against Dusan Lajovic and his nearest seed is Richard Gasquet, perhaps his absolute favorite opponent to play against. Nadal’s section also includes Tomas Berdych, Fabio Fognini, Gael Monfils, and Cincinnati champion Grigor Dimitrov.
Andy Murray beat out Federer by a mere five points for the No. 2 seed and his reward is an incredibly soft draw. Among the second-ranked Scot’s fellow seeds in the bottom quarter of the bracket are Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Pablo Carreno Busta, Lucas Pouille, and David Ferrer. Likely the only problem Murray could encounter prior to the semis is his own health. He has not played since Wimbledon due to a hip injury.
With Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka sidelined, Alexander Zverev is the No. 4 seed. The 20-year-old German has never done much at a major, so his section is wide open. Other contenders include Marin Cilic, John Isner, Jack Sock, and Gilles Muller.
Full draw at the U.S. Open website
[polldaddy poll=9815979]
[polldaddy poll=9816738]
[polldaddy poll=9816740]
[polldaddy poll=9816745]
[polldaddy poll=9816747]
who ya got?
Tough draw for Nadal and Fed both. Kyrgios and Dimitrov two off the hottest players right now.
The draw:
http://www.usopen.org/en_US/scores/draws/2017_MS_draw.pdf
Too bad they in same half.
Rafa got toughest n hottest player dimi. Exactly what I feared.
Is rafa okay. Heard he was limping in practice.
Why are they punishing R. Nadal, this is not fair.
Roger Federer is hottest player this year and right now.
Haven’t seen the draw am busy right now, Rafito won’t make it, but if he makes it to the finals(which he won’t) my one and only Rafito will win the US OPEN.
I don’t think he will win it because if he meets R. Federer, Roger will smash him, but i wish Rafa the best.
Stanley, here you pop up after 1 week? Where were you man?
Nah…Roger will not smash Rafa but he will just win in 2 easy sets!lol
Stan, what are your ATP and WTA picks with Doubles matches(Liking Roger=me and Tecau to win!lol) for today? Who else?
Do you favor Edmund to win with his bum shoulder? Will he retire mid-match or fight on stubbornly and lose or win? Miss your unique lengthy logic, Stan man.
Nah…Roger will not smash Rafa but he will just win in 2 easy sets!lol
This is why i like you, we are like twins, you get me.
I posted on the daily page and i also told you that my friend is getting married and i am the HANDSOME best man, so i have been busy with work and helping out as well.
Judging 4rm your past comments you didn’t miss, we are officially FRENEMIES and after F. Mayweather and C. McGregor fights, you and i need to fight.
I promise you, you won’t make it to round 2.
#Nomercy
2 easy sets in a best of 5? Genius, why didn’t I think of that!
I take back what I said about AZ not winning this year. With his draw he just might. So many of the “hot” players have cooled off – the big servers in general – and a few not so hot players have caught fire – Kyrgios, Dimitrov. Rafa’s hc play has been less than spectacular and even Roger is a bit of a question mark. I think upsets will abound.
Sad that we won’t get Fedal final.
Me too, Ramara… I’ve been holding out so much hope for months about getting a Fedal US Open final. 🙁 Oh well- maybe we will get an all-time classic semifinal along the lines of 2013 RG Rafa/Novak semi! 🙂
Really tough draw for GOAT, and for Rafa too. Dtrov very hot right now, and kyrios playing his all time best. I still like GOAT to win it all.
Want Rafa to win but he had a problem with his right knee in his practice with Verdasco. He had it against Muller in Wimbledon at 2 sets to 1, 1 game to Muller you can watch it at that point.
He’s fine; he practiced with Dimi later, on Friday, wearing a blue sleeveless top.
I think he will be fine. How can he suddenly have a knee problem?
I still stand by my belief that IF he is healthy, Federer would have to be considered the slight favorite. However, I do believe he would only be SLIGHT favorite, as he certainly is more vulnerable to an upset by the likes of Kyrgios, Zverev, or Rafa. If Fed’s back acts up, that slight edge could go out the door quickly. So even though a healthy Fed has to naturally have a slight edge given his form/record this season, I definitely see this tournament as pretty open… It makes me disappointed to hear rumors about Rafa having a possible knee issue. Injuries have just reaped absolute havoc on this season, even for the top players who haven’t ended their seasons. Maybe all the top players have just been on tour long enough with the modern game style that they’re all starting to suffer the consequences of many hectic calendar seasons consecutively. Perhaps it wasn’t as big of a wide-spread issue with previous generations because the sport wasn’t nearly as physically and athletically demanding? Anyway, I think that this tournament could be relatively more wide-open than it may seem. Interested to see where Murray is at. He will obviously be extremely rusty at first, but he will also be extremely well-rested. Murray is a guy who is usually so fit that he doesn’t struggle with tiredness even when he’s played a lot, so maybe he’s in a good position to make a deep run, helped by a relatively easy draw? We shall see!
For anyone who cares to know, it’s official- I am going to the US Open!! 🙂 It’s not only my first major, but it’s actually the first professional tournament I’ve ever attended on any level. I am beyond excited, as most of you can imagine… My friend and I have tickets for the Arthur Ashe Stadium day session on Saturday 9/2. Plus, the Ashe day session tickets also include general admission to Armstrong, Grandstand, and all outer courts! The next week is going to be so hard for me to get through as I will be brimming with excitement about NYC… I’ve been dreaming of attending a major for many years, and I can finally afford to make it happen. I will be thinking of all you fellow Grandstand peeps while I’m there. 🙂
Hey Kev, wear a red RF baseball cap so I can spot you in the crowd on TV.
Best bet to catch Rafa in round three would be Sat. afternoon with primetime Fed at night wearing all black no doubt.
Rafa is playing afraid again.
Fed going to bag No. 19 of 20 IMNSHO.
NY is awesome. Have a great time!
#Jealous
Hmmm Nadal always seems to perform at a better level at the US Open then he does in the rest of the USO series.
I think with Moya coming back, he should be able to make the semi’s after a grueling quarterfinal with Dimitrov, falling to Federer in 4 or 5 (although I wouldn’t mind if he won :P)
Also, I don’t know if Federer can hold up. The USO imo will be much harder to dominate than Wimbledon, and I’m not sure if Federer can play 7 matches with 3+ sets without something happening to his back in between.
Overall, I think it’s a good possibility that someone new may win.
But what always pisses me off, why does Murray ALWAYS get a soft draw?? Whether he is No.1 or No.2 he never gets anyone difficult at least until the semi’s and it blows -_-.
If you’re not sure whether Fed can hold up, then why you think Rafa will fall to Fed in the SF in four or five sets? Maybe it’s Fed who will have a grueling QF with Krygios?
Fed has not dominated at the USO after 2008, I doubt he will this time, at least he doesn’t seem like it to me.
Good point…
Looking more closely I think Federer has a good chance of losing to Kyrgios.
Looking at mroe possible upsets, Nadal can also lose to Berdych, and if he does beat Berdych, Dimitrov is hugngry for getting revenge from the AO-semis loss.
Honestly, we could have Fed and Nadal both lose before semi’s….
I think although Fed is a question mark right now, the two weeks he had as a break served him well, and I expect him to be ready at the USO (although if he loses in the 4th, I will not be surprised.)
Nadal on the other hand, I really can’t say anything until we see his match.
So ignore my statements from the previous post.
Realistic? Predicitions
Nadal beats Berdych in 4, loses to Dimitrov in 5.
Federer loses to Nick in 4, who then goes on to lose to Dimitrov in the semifinal.
Murray will fall to Zverev in 3 or 4 in the other semifinal.
Dimitrov will defeat a drained Zverev and clinch his first grand slam title.
Biased and preferred predictions
Nadal beats Berdych in 3, defeats Dimitrov in 4, Defeats Fed in 5, goes on to defeat Zverev in 4 in the final and take the title.
Fed defeats Kyrgios and loses to Rafa in 5.
Murray will struggle but make it to the semi’s, losing to Zverev.
Zverev will be too tired to his best in the final, and Rafa will beat him in 4.
I would say he dominated it in 2015…. Except for against Djokovic. 🙂
If you lost, that shouldn’t be called dominating!
I can’t believe it but it looks like Fed actually got the worse draw between he and Rafa. Tiafoe is a tough first rounder and he could face Verdasco third round. Most importantly, though, Kyrgios could play him fourth round. I’m worried for Roger in that one of it happens. Kyrgios might not get past Querrey if they face in round three though. Rafa’s only threat before quarters is Fog in fourth round if he gets there.
? How is Berdych in 4R not a threat? Berdych had a great showing in Wimbledon and although he may have lost to Delpo in Cincy, I think he’ll come out doing fairly well at the USO. My pick for the 4R in Rafa’s quarter is Rafa vs Berdych, with Rafa narrowly winning.
Nadal is 19-4 vs Berdych. Berdych is such a bad mental player against the top guys. It’s just a fact. Only times he beaten Nadal recently was 2015 Aussie open when Rafa wasn’t healthy or even close to his 2017 form.
I have to agree with Benny. Berdy doesn’t have it between the ears. He is not going to be a threat to Rafa. If we are going to worry about the likes of Berdy, then that is really concerning. Berdy doesn’t do well against the top players. He doesn’t have the mental strength.
Dimi is the challenge coming off his win in Cincy. Can he replicate the quality of tennis he played against Rafa at the AO?
Berdy beat Rafa fairly easily a month ago at the exhibition, but yes i’ll agree Berdych usually doesn’t do well against the Big 4, especially in slams. Phew, that makes me feel better about Rafa’s chances to make QF 🙂 . QFs are scary tho for Rafa 🙁
They played that exhibition match on the wet & slippery grass. Rafa moved very carefully to avoid falling.
This has gotta be one of the more exciting recent qualifying turnouts at the slams. Former college players and downright surprising qualifiers and some have amazing draws!! Here’s a little bit about each one:
1) Maximillian Marterer: upset top seed Mayer in final round to make first slam main draw, plays Young round one
2) Denis Shapovalov: thank god he qualified because this kid is a beast and we already know him well, has great draw for a qualifier w Medvedev round one and nearest seeds are ice cold Tsonga and Haase so I wouldn’t say a run for him is out of the question
3) Radu Albot: not surprised he qualified, has winnable round one matchup with Escobedo
4) Vaclav Safranek: HUGE SURPRISE, this guy has never even won a challenger match on hard courts!! And he beat recent ATP 250 finalist Hanfmann and even more impressive win over Stakhovsky in final round of qualies to make first grand slam main draw. Absolutely amazing result for a guy who’s only made one career challenger semifinal. Dealt tough round one vs Dimitrov
5) JC Aragone: maybe even more shocking than Safranek. This guy played NUMBER FIVE singles at UVA. Not one or two or three. Five. That’s really all you need to know. Also he’s ranked outside the top 500. Epic.
Does anyone if the top half automatically plays on the first day? I would assume that’s how they do it, but maybe not? I really hope that the bottom half happens to play on the first day because that would mean that Fedal would both play on Saturday when I’m going. If Fedal play on Friday and Sunday, I will be kicking myself for getting Saturday tix instead of Sunday… Normally it wouldn’t matter because there would at least be other top players in that bottom half for me to enjoy. I personally find Murray’s style supremely boring to watch, especially compared to Fed and Rafa. Murray is an amazing player, obviously, but his style just is so uninteresting to me, especially when he gets into his super-defensive mode. Plus his forehand is one of the ugliest, off-balance shots I’ve ever seen. If he is at least getting aggressive and ripping those beautiful cross-court backhands then I could enjoy it. 🙂
Usually tournaments draw to see which half plays the first day. I don’t think the USO is any different. Sorry. Makes it even harder for fans who want to see their faves.
Agree re Murray. He can be fun to watch – he and Rafa have played some great matches – but often isn’t. Zverev is in Murray’s half, right? He’s good to watch.
Good luck!
At Wimbledon, the reigning men’s champion plays on Centre Court on the first day.
You’re right about Zverev! Maybe they will have one of Zverev of Murray during the day session on Saturday… Thanks Ramara. 🙂
I was in the same conundrum. Hence I decided to buy tickets for wed fri and sunday of the following week.
Hope Rafa makes it till then 🙂
Have a fanstastic time
6) Mikhail Kukushkin: belongs in main draw, we know he’s got game, has Ferrer first round, those two went three in Madrid this year
7) Cameron Norrie: yet another college star, played at TCU and decided to go pro this year. Won Binghamton challenger couple weeks ago over Thompson in the finals, playing amazing tennis lately, destroyed Bublik in first round of qualies, has a match he is the favorite in round one with one of the best draws you could ask for: Tursunov.
7) Stefano Travaglia: first US Open main draw after qualifying at Wimbledon. Has yet to lose a grand slam qualifying match (6-0 now). His first hard court main tournament of the season and one of the very few he’s played in his career. Won 7 clay court futures titles over last two seasons. Plays aggressive game and almost beat Rublev at Wimbledon. He plays his countryman Fognini round one and could win. This guy is a no name right now but looking at his ability to play on all surfaces and his form this year, he could come out of nowhere and make some serious noise in the next few seasons.
8) Cedrik-Marcel Stebe: smoked Thompson in Vancouver challenger final the other week, in fantastic form and on cusp of top 100, winnable round one match with Kicker
9) Adrian Menendez-Maceiras: arguably the best draw of all time LOL, he barely beat Quiroz round one, got withdrawal mid match vs Bagnis, beat De Loire to qualify, and now he gets the seventeen year old Kalamazoo champion Patrick Kypson who is ranked 917 in the world. It’s gotta be up there with one of the greatest draws a 31 year old Spaniard ranked 148 could ever ask for. Really happy for that guy.
10) Vincent Millot: in good form lately, beat Verdasco recently and tested Querrey, he’s 31 years old and only 5 foot 8 but managing to play some of his best tennis lately and closing in on career high ranking and has very winnable match with Giraldo first round
11) JP Smith: didn’t drop a set in qualies, plays his best on grass, serve and volleyer, Aussie fighter, winnable round one vs Fabbiano
12) Evan King: played college tennis for Michigan, at 25 years old starting to come into his own, lost in third set tiebreak to eventual champ Querrey in Los Cabos. He notched impressive wins over Olivo and Mmoh to qualify. Tough one vs PCB round one
14) Nicolas Mahut: accidentally had two number sevens that’s why Mahut is #14, no need to explain much but he had good wins over Ramanathan and Tsitsipas in qualies and needs some confidence right now, has a great draw w Fucsovics round one
15) Darian King: started season on a roll, notched round one wins in IW and Miami, cooled off since but has impressive wins here and gets Zverev round one, this guy pretty much just gets everything in lol, no real weapons just super consistent
16) Tim Smyczek: I’m really happy about this one. Tim is 29 but seems even older. He’s lost so much confidence over the last couple seasons and seemed to fall off the map a bit after almost beating Rafa in AO 2015. Great sport and great backhand. Tough draw with Querrey, would love to see him win, but he’s a pretty heavy underdog
Thanks for these posts, Benny. Nice to learn a bit about the cannon fodder. 🙂 I’ve been following the qualies a bit, mainly to see if Shapolov got through and it’s nice to learn a bit about the others. Great for all of them since even getting into the main draw at a major can make a struggling player’s year.
Anyone want to say that this draw is rigged? What better evidence for a truly random draw than this one? Chances of a Fedal final were going to be slim anyway, but ensuring that it can’t happen isn’t a good bottom line decision. Fed with the toughest quarter, but with good health should still pull through.
The draw was done BEFORE (!) they started the live coverage of the official draw ceremony!
Men’s draw starts at the 31:15 min mark:
https://www.facebook.com/usopentennis/videos/10154665076267187/
Isn’t dimi a tougher candidate now than both kyrgios and Thiem. Why does Fed then have toughest qtr?
no. Dimi overrated from Cincinnati title. Didn’t beat great opponents. Rarely does much at slams. And matchup-wise for Rafa not as bad as Kyrgios. Not as dangerous.
I hope you’re right, Ricky.
I think Fed’s quarter is more loaded – Krygios, Querrey, Delpo, Verdasco, though I think Thiem as a quarter finalist is not as tough as Dimi.
Yep. If Rafa is able to find good form, he should be able to handle Dimi in but it will be close. Kyrgios would have been a better worry for Rafa.
Kyrgios always shows up against the big 4 and if he meets Fed in the 4th rnd, it will be quite tricky for Fed.
I agree about Dimi. Kyrgios would have been worse for Rafa. He does show up when it comes to playing the top guys.
I also think Ricky made some good points about Dimi. He diidn’t have a tough draw in Cincy. Dimi hasn’t been able to do it in the slams. His performance at the AO against Rafa was a one-off. He wasn’t able to do anything at RG or Wimby,
Maybe true that some of Dimitrov’s opponents in Cinci weren’t great, but Kyrgios was certainly tough, and Grigor beat them all convincingly. From what I can tell, he’s been really working hard, and I think he will be a very tough opponent for Rafa should the two meet. But I agree that Kyrgios is the more dangerous opponent if he really shows up to play. Surprised that Ricky is picking Fed to beat him in straights.
Kyrgios is tougher and Thiem isn’t imo. Thiem on hard courts isn’t a top ten player.
Lol if someone says Thiem is a threat in Fed’s quarter, then I’m done.
Murray has withdrawn from the USO!
So he waited just long enough to screw up the draw!
Yes! That is exactly what he did! Don’t tell me he didn’t know yesterday if he could play or not.
I’m so triggered rn -_________________-
If all seeds were to win the matches they should according to ranking, the bottom half semifinal would be Zverev vs Cilic. What the fuck…