Australian hopefuls handed challenging draws at US Open 2024

by Admin
August 23, 2024

For the fifth consecutive Grand Slam, two Australians are set to meet in the opening round of the men’s singles competition.

New York, USA, 23 August 2024 | Leigh Rogers

The US Open 2024 singles draws have been revealed.

Alex de Minaur leads an 12-strong Australian contingent in the men’s singles competition. This is the most Aussie men to feature in a US Open singles draw since 1979.

The 25-year-old De Minaur, who is the highest-seeded Australian man in New York in 19 years, has drawn world No.46 Marcos Giron in the opening round. This will be the 10th seed’s first singles match since a hip injury thwarted his Wimbledon campaign last month.

The draw has been kinder for Alexei Popyrin, who is seeded at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career. The 25-year-old will play Korean Soonwoo Kwon, who has been struggling with a shoulder injury and only won two tour-level matches this season.

Rinky Hijikata, who made the fourth round at Flushing Meadows last year in a breakout run, begins his 2024 campaign against Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a former world No.21 who has twice reached the fourth round at the tournament.

Thanasi Kokkinakis, Chris O’Connell, James Duckworth and qualifier Li Tu all meet seeded opponents in the opening round, while Max Purcell and Aleksandar Vukic face-off in an all-Australian showdown.

This is the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament to feature an all-Australian battle in the opening round and the second year in a row that Purcell has been pitted against a compatriot in New York (last year he lost to O’Connell in the first round).

US Open 2024 Men’s singles, first round
Player	Rank		Player	Rank
[10] Alex de Minaur (AUS)	No.10	v	Marcos Giron (USA)	No.46
[28] Alexei Popyrin (AUS)	No.28	v	Soonwoo Kwon (KOR)	No.342
Jordan Thompson (AUS)	No.33	v	Constant Lestienne (FRA)	No.110
Rinky Hijikata (AUS)	No.65	v	Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)	No.57
James Duckworth (AUS)	No.70	v	[31] Flavio Cobolli (ITA)	No.31
Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)	No.84	v	[11] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)	No.11
Chris O’Connell (AUS)	No.86	v	[26] Nicolas Jarry (CHI)	No.26
Max Purcell (AUS)	No.91	v	Aleksandar Vukic (AUS)	No.94
Adam Walton (AUS)	No.96	v	Alexandre Muller (FRA)	No.76
[Q] Li Tu (AUS)	No.188	v	[3] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)	No.3
[WC] Tristan Schoolkate (AUS)	No.195	v	Taro Daniel (JPN)	No.88

> VIEW: Full US Open 2024 men’s singles draw

Eight Australians will compete in the women’s singles competition, our biggest representation at the US Open since 1989.

Daria Saville and Ajla Tomljanovic each face a qualifier in their opening matches, while Taylah Preston, a 18-year-old from Perth making her US Open main-draw debut as a wildcard, plays the experienced Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Qualifiers Destanee Aiava and Priscilla Hon face top-five opponents, while fellow qualifier Kimberly Birrell meets Paris 2024 Olympic silver medallist Donna Vekic.

> READ: A record-breaking six Australians qualify at US Open 2024

US Open 2024 Women’s singles, first round
Player	Rank		Player	Rank
Daria Saville (AUS)	No.93	v	[Q] Ena Shibahara (JPN)	No.218
[Q] Arina Rodionova (AUS)	No.118	v	Wang Xinyu (CHN)	No.37
Ajla Tomljanovic (AUS)	No.119	v	[Q] Ann Li (USA)	No.131
[Q] Maya Joint (AUS)	No.136	v	Laura Siegemund (GER)	No.92
[WC] Taylah Preston (AUS)	No.145	v	[25] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	No.26
[Q] Kimberly Birrell (AUS)	No.147	v	[24] Donna Vekic (CRO)	No.25
[Q] Destanee Aiava (AUS)	No.180	v	[4] Elena Rybakina (KAZ)	No.4
[Q] Priscilla Hon (AUS)	No.205	v	[2] Aryna Sabalenka	No.2

> VIEW: Full US Open 2024 women’s singles draw

Main-draw action at Flushing Meadows begins on Monday 26 August (from 1am Tuesday 27 August AEST). The tournament is broadcast live in Australia on the Nine Network and Stan Sport.

Find your way to play: Visit play.tennis.com.au to get out on court and have some fun!