After the unfortunate episode of the Cincinnati Final, the rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner advances to a new episode in New York. The US Open draw took place on Thursday and World No. 1 and World No. 2 (separated by a mere 60 points when taking out the points from last year's US Open, with Alcaraz actually leading), and they know who their first rivals will be. As always, they would never face each other until a potential final.
Carlos Alcaraz will debut against a tough rival with a powerful serve: Reilly Opelka, World No, 66, in what will be their first match together. After that, Alcaraz could face Italian Mattia Belluci or Chinese Juncheng Shang in second round, Italian Luciano Darderi in third round, and beware: he could face heavy hitters like Ben Shelton or Casper Ruud in fourth round.
But perhaps the most exciting prospect is that Alcaraz is on the same collision course than Novak Djokovic, who could meet in semi-finals. The last time they clashed, in Australia Open quarter-finals, Djokovic won, but the Serbian hasn't competed since losing in Wimbledon semis to Jannik Sinner. And before that, Djokovic would have to defeat talented teenager Learner Tien and possible Frances Tiafoe or Holger Rune and Taylor Fritz in quarter-finals.
Jannik Sinner will debut against Czech Vit Kopriva, World No. 87. His journey to the final could mean clashes against last year's semi finalist Jack Draper, and a semi-final with World No. 3 Alexander Zverev, whom Sinner defeated at the Australian Open early this year.
Bear in mind that exact dates and times have not been announced yet, but they would be around Sunday August 24 or Monday August 25, with the final on Sunday September 7.