Emma Raducanu chooses Carlos Alcaraz and Paula Badosa awkwardly hesitates as players make US Open predictions
Emma Raducana gave her early pick on who would reign supreme at Flushing Meadows following Thursday's men's US Open draw.
The main action gets underway on Monday with favourites Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev together in the top half of the draw.
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Australian open champion Sinner was drawn in the same quarter as 2021 US Open winner Medvedev to set up a potential mouthwatering clash.
Olympic gold medallist and No.2 seed Novak Djokovic is in the bottom half of the draw and could face home star Ben Shelton in the fourth round.
Alcaraz, who was triumphant in 2022, is among the names expected to go deep in the tournament despite being on the back of a rare two-match losing run.
His Olympic final defeat to Djokovic was followed up by a loss to Gael Monfils in Cincinnati but is expected to have a huge say in the destination of this year’s title.
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Predicting the winner appears to be as challenging as ever as a number of stars - men tried to preview the women's champion and women offered their takes on the possible men's winners - gave their thoughts on who will be the king of New York City.
“The way the last year’s gone I would have to say Carlos Alcaraz, he’s playing really good tennis,” said 2021 Women’s US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Her answer went viral on social media amid completely unfounded rumours of a relationship with Alcaraz, which the Spaniard was forced to address at Wimbledon.
The Wimbledon champion goes into the tournament, however, with a chance to snap his streak as he plays a qualifier in the first round in the shape of Denis Shapovalov.
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The first seeded player he could face is Britain's Jack Draper in the third round, who had a Cincinnati tournament to forget.
Paula Badosa, who is officially dating Stefanos Tsitsipas, awkwardly had difficulty picker her winner, with her partner firmly in the mix at Flushing Meadows.
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“Oh my god this is tough because my heart says one thing and my brain says another one, “ she said. “Okay I’ll go with Stefanos Tsitsipas!”
In the women’s draw, Raducanu will face another Grand Slam winner in Sofia Kenin as the Briton plays her first US Open match for two years.
Raducanu, a shock winner in 2021, followed up her triumph with a first-round defeat in 2022 and missed last year’s tournament after undergoing wrist and ankle surgery.
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Her opener against 2020 Australian Open winner Kenin, represents a tough start to her hopes of landing a second title.
Meanwhile, British No.1 Katie Boulter kicks off her US Open campaign against an unconfirmed qualifier.
For the home stars there is history in the air. That is because for the first time since October 1996, five American men and five U.S. women are ranked in Top 20.
Frances Tiafoe powered his way into the top 20 by reaching the Cincinnati final and is joined by No. 12 Taylor Fritz, No. 13 Ben Shelton, No. 14 Tommy Paul and No. 16 Sebastian Korda in the men's rankings.
On the women's side, reigning US Open champion Gauff leads the way at world No. 3, followed by No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 11 Danielle Collins, No. 13 Emma Navarro and No. 14 Madison Keys.
OCTOBER 1996 US RANKINGS
MEN
No. 1 Pete Sampras
No. 2 Michael Chang
No. 9 Andre Agassi
No. 12 MaliVai Washington
No. 13 Todd Martin
No. 15 Jim Courier
WOMEN
No. 1 Monica Seles
No. 6 Lindsay Davenport
No. 9 Mary Joe Fernandez
No. 13 Chanda Rubin
No. 20 Meredith McGrath
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