Djokovic Opens US Open Against Navone
The draw sent Novak Djokovic, the fourth seed, into a first-round match with Mariano Navone at the US Open, with his projected path leading to a semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz.
The draw board on Thursday, August 27, was packed with names, arrows and brackets, the way it always looks at a Grand Slam the day before the first ball is struck. As reporters in New York worked through the seeding numbers, the machine produced the pairing Serbian fans had been waiting for: Novak Djokovic’s name landed right next to Mariano Navone’s.
Djokovic is the fourth seed at the last Grand Slam of the season and opens against world No. 48 Navone, an Argentine he has never faced at this level of competition. The tournament runs from August 30 to September 14, according to B92 and Kurir, while the ATP and some foreign previews list the final for September 13, so sources differ on the exact final date.
Who could Djokovic face after the first round?
If he gets past Navone, Djokovic’s second round opponent will be the winner of Stan Wawrinka against Matteo Berrettini. The third round could bring Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Martin Landaluce, and the round of 16 is projected on paper as a clash with Andrey Rublev or Brandon Nakashima, the American who reached the Montreal Masters final.
The quarterfinal carries a bigger name. Per the draw, the projected opponent there is Daniil Medvedev, the seventh seed and 2021 finalist, or Frances Tiafoe. Should Djokovic get that far and win, his semifinal opponent would be second seed Carlos Alcaraz, or eighth seed Ben Shelton. Alcaraz is the defending champion, but he returns to New York after a months-long absence caused by a wrist injury that has bothered him since April, and he opens the tournament against Roman Safiullin, world No. 98.
In a possible final, following the same paper path, Djokovic would meet top seed Alexander Zverev, who opens against Lorenzo Sonego, or third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. Zverev, worth remembering, became the top seed only after Jannik Sinner, the world No. 1, withdrew because of injury.
Djokovic has won the US Open four times, most recently in 2023, and reached the semifinal there last year. In New York he is chasing a record 25th Grand Slam title, and every round he wins would return him to a stage where he has written his name more often than any other player of his generation.
Other Serbian players and two farewell runs
Miomir Kecmanovic opens his first round against Denis Shapovalov, while Hamad Medjedovic begins the tournament against Kamil Majchrzak. For both, the US Open is a chance to extend their run on tennis’s biggest stage, though neither sits anywhere near Djokovic’s side of the draw.
Another notable detail from the draw: New York will be the last Grand Slam of two experienced players’ careers. Stan Wawrinka, who received a wild card, and Gael Monfils are both playing their final tournament at this level, adding extra weight to their opening matches.
In the women’s draw, the top seed is defending champion Aryna Sabalenka, aiming for a third straight title in New York. Second seed is Elena Rybakina, while Coco Gauff, fresh off her win in Cincinnati, is the fourth seed and one of the players expected to make the deepest run through the bottom half of the women’s bracket.
Earlier this week we wrote about how Frances Tiafoe fell out of part of that storyline, and how Djokovic and Sabalenka both ended up with tougher rivals than expected ahead of the draw. Now that the pairings are final, the question is whether the paper path holds up through the semifinals, or whether one of the favorites falls earlier than the bracket suggests. The first ball in New York flies on August 30, and Djokovic opens his tournament against Navone the same weekend as most of the seeds.
