U.S. OPEN DRAW CEREMONY: NADAL, DJOKOVIC IN SAME QUARTER; FEDERER, MURRAY IN SAME HALF

Written by: Staff on 27th August 2015

U.S. OPEN DRAW CEREMONY: NADAL, DJOKOVIC IN SAME QUARTER; FEDERER, MURRAY IN SAME HALF |

Photo by @TennisworldUSA via Twitter.

Ricky Dimon’s Take on The U.S. Open Draw Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic In The Same Quarter; Roger Federer, Andy Murray Are In The Same Half

The U.S. Open draw ceremony was held on Thursday in New York and once again Rafael Nadal’s plunge in the rankings to outside the top four has cost him at a Grand Slam. For the second time in the last three majors, Nadal and Novak Djokovic are in the same quarter.

Nadal, who currently registers at eighth in the world, also found himself in the top section of the French Open. That resulted in a quarterfinal loss to Djokovic.

In Flushing Meadows, however, Nadal may have an even tougher test just making it to the last eight. The Spaniard will open against 18-year-old Borna Coric, who upset last fall on the indoor hard courts of Basel. Nadal could face Fabio Fognini or Steve Johnson in the third round and possibly Milos Raonic in the fourth. Mardy Fish, who is retiring at the U.S. Open, has a favorable draw at least on paper. Could he go all the way to face Nadal in the last 16 and even Djokovic in the quarterfinals?

In addition to Fognini vs. Johnson, intriguing first-rounders in the first section include David Goffin vs. Simone Bolelli and Roberto Bautista Agut vs. Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

Elsewhere in the top half, defending champion Marin Cilic and 2014 runner-up Kei Nishikori are on a collision course for a quarterfinal rematch. Their section could be up for grabs among a whole host of contenders–a list that might also feature David Ferrer, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Grigor Dimitrov, and Alexandr Dolgopolov.

The opening round will pit Nishikori against Benoit Paire and the first week may also see Monfils vs. Tsonga and Cilic vs. Dimitrov (both would take place in the third round)

Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka–just to name a few–are on the other side. Murray will contest a blockbuster first-rounder against Nick Kyrgios on his way to a potential showdown with Wawrinka in the quarters. Federer’s section includes big hitters such as Tomas Berdych, John Isner, and Ivo Karlovic.

Federer will kick off his campaign against Leonardo Mayer, who had five match points in their Shanghai showdown last fall only to see the 17-time Grand Slam champion storm back for victory.

See the full U.S. Open draw here on the tournament website

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs_com, 2015 US Open, Alexandr Dolgopolov, Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Borna Coric, David Ferrer, David Goffin, Fabio Fognini, Flushing Meadows, Gael Monfils, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Kei Nishikori, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roberto Bautista Agut, Roger Federer, Simone Bolelli, Stan Wawrinka, Stevie Johnson, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

August 27, 2015 at 11:17 am

-@usopen DRAW CEREMONY: @RafaelNadal, @DjokerNole IN SAME QUARTER; @rogerfederer, @andy_murray IN SAME HALF- http://t.co/bibp7F7kQ4 #USOpen
dusanVemic says:

August 27, 2015 at 5:57 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@usopen DRAW CEREMONY: @RafaelNadal, @DjokerNole IN SAME QUARTER; @rogerfederer, @andy_murray IN SAME HALF- http://t.co/…