in his men’s singles first round match against on Day One of the 2018 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 27
The draw for the 2019 edition of the US Open is complete with seven Canadians set to take part in the first round, with the potential for one more to join them. Félix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC) and Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) will again face off in the first round in another all-Canadian clash. Milos Raonic (Thornhill, ON), Brayden Schnur (Toronto, ON), Vasek Pospisil (Vancouver, BC), Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, ON) and Eugenie Bouchard (Montreal, QC) also discovered their opponents.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked a career-high No. 19, is the tournament’s 18th seed and will face compatriot Shapovalov (No. 38) for just the second time since their previous meeting in the first round at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center a year ago. Their last match, at the Madrid Open in May, finished 6-2, 7-6(7) in Auger-Aliassime’s favour. This is the first time Auger-Aliassime has entered a tournament as the highest-ranked Canadian in men’s singles since he overtook Raonic in the ATP rankings.
Raonic, ranked No. 22 in the world, is seeded 21st in New York and will take on Nicolas Jarry (No. 69) of Chile in the first round. The match will mark the pair’s first meeting. Should Raonic, 28, win his opening matches, he could set up a third-round clash with Borna Coric (No. 12).
Meanwhile, Schnur, ranked No. 92, faces a first-round match against the tournament’s 29th seed, Benoit Paire of France, and Pospisil (No. 216) will take on Karen Khachanov (No. 9) of Russia. Steven Diez (Toronto, ON) could join his fellow Canadians in the first round of the main draw, should he defeat Soonwoo Kwon in the final stage of qualifying on Friday.
In the women’s singles draw, Andreescu, seeded 15th, will face 17-year-old Katie Volynets, ranked No. 407 in the world, in the first round. If Andreescu were to win her opening matches, she could set up a third-round meeting with 19th seed and two-time US Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.
Bouchard (No. 119) will take on 12th seed Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia in the first round. In their three previous meetings, Sevastova held the upper hand on two occasions, including in their most-recent match at the French Open in 2017. Bouchard’s lone win over the Latvian came on the hard courts of Doha in 2016. Should the Canadian overcome Sevastova, she could face Poland’s Iga Swiatek in the second round and 22nd seed Petra Martic in the third.
(Feature photo: Mauricio Paiz)
