TPN/Getty Images. Pictured: Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
The biggest American tournament of the year is within touching distance.
On Thursday, the 2021 singles draws for the U.S. Open were revealed, outlining what it will take for Novak Djokovic to complete the calendar slam, or the path for someone to spoil the Serb’s dream.
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2021 U.S. Open Favorites’ Odds
(Odds via PointsBet)
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | -141 |
| Daniil Medvedev | +400 |
| Alexander Zverev | +600 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | +900 |
Full odds are listed at the bottom of the page
To no one’s surprise, Djokovic is a heavy favorite after winning the first three slams of the year.
He battled through an abdominal injury to take the Australian Open crown, before defeating the ‘King of Clay’, Rafa Nadal, and Stefanos Tsitsipas from two sets down at the French Open. He capped off his summer by breezing through the Wimbledon field.
However, Djokovic finally suffered a meaningful defeat at the Olympics in Tokyo, where Alexander Zverev took over in the last two sets of the semifinal to get the win. Pablo Carreno Busta added insult to injury for Djokovic, beating him in the bronze medal match to leave the Serb without a medal.
Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are the bookies’ favorites to dethrone Djokovic, but it certainly won’t be easy.
Q1 Draw
🚨 DRAW ALERT 🚨
Top seed Novak Djokovic has former US Open finalist @keinishikori & Wimbledon finalist @MattBerrettini in his quarter. pic.twitter.com/1asFBv3F1c
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2021
The main attraction here is obviously the world’s No. 1 player, but his quarter has some danger awaiting.
Matteo Berrettini made it all the way to the Wimbledon final, before losing to Djokovic in four, and Hubert Hurkacz was a semifinalist. Aslan Karatsev is another player that made a semifinal of a slam this year, the Australian Open, also before falling to Djokovic.
Q2 Draw
Reigning finalist @AlexZverev could face a rematch with last year's semifinalist, @pablocarreno91, or 🇨🇦 star @denis_shapo. pic.twitter.com/Qr9GaUqWkq
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2021
One of the hottest players on tour this year will also have some tough competition to battle through. Carreno Busta pushed the German to five sets in last year’s U.S. Open semifinal, and Denis Shapovalov made the Wimbledon semifinal, before a loss to Djokovic (seeing a trend here?).
Reilly Opelka and Sebastian Korda are the most dangerous Americans in the draw, and both are located in this quarter.
Keep an eye out for what could be the section of the draw with the most fireworks.
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Q3 Draw
🇬🇷 @steftsitsipas' quarter is loaded with exciting players including @AndreyRublev97, @felixtennis, @NickKyrgios & former champion @andy_murray. pic.twitter.com/WfRlxPUcfH
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2021
Tsitsipas’ quarter is one that features a mix of young stars and older stalwarts of the game. Starting with the Greek himself, he’ll feel good about his chances in New York after two consecutive Masters 1000 semifinals, though he wanted more from the events.
Big hitter Andrey Rublev is the biggest threat to Tsitsipas exiting the quarter, but a first-round battle with legend Andy Murray is as mouth-watering as it gets.
Showman Nick Kyrgios also features in the quarter, in addition to the impressive young Canadian, Felix Auger Aliassime.
Q4 Draw
2 seed @DaniilMedwed could have to contend with former finalist @cilic_marin, fan favorite @dieschwartzman, or Next Gen @CasperRuud98 in his quarter. pic.twitter.com/xs048VQB51
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 26, 2021
The final quarter of the draw features the Russian with the best chance of meeting Djokovic in the final. Medvedev has already reached a U.S. Open final before, falling to Rafa Nadal in a 2019 thriller. He’s also coming off of a title in Toronto and a semifinal effort in Cincinnati.
2014 champion Marin Cilic resides in this quarter, as does the ever-present American John Isner and direct opposite Diego Schwartzman, who is 16 inches shorter than Isner.
This appears to be the most lopsided quarter in the draw, but anything can happen in grand slams, especially when two members of the big three are absent.
2021 U.S. Open Odds
(Odds via PointsBet / Denotes all listed players available)
| Player | Odds |
|---|---|
| Novak Djokovic | -141 |
| Daniil Medvedev | +400 |
| Alexander Zverev | +600 |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | +900 |
| Matteo Berrettini | 20-1 |
| Andrey Rublev | 28-1 |
| Jannik Sinner | 33-1 |
| Milos Raonic | 33-1 |
| Denis Shapovalov | 40-1 |
| Felix Auger Aliassime | 50-1 |
| Andy Murray | 60-1 |
| Aslan Karatsev | 60-1 |
| Nick Kyrgios | 60-1 |
| Karen Khachanov | 60-1 |
| Hubert Hurkacz | 60-1 |
| Pablo Carreno Busta | 80-1 |
| Sebastian Korda | 80-1 |
| Grigor Dimitrov | 90-1 |
| Roberto Bautista Agut | 90-1 |
| David Goffin | 90-1 |
| John Isner | 90-1 |
| Casper Ruud | 90-1 |
| Jo Wilfried Tsonga | 90-1 |
| Alex de Minaur | 100-1 |
| Diego Schwartzman | 125-1 |
| Ugo Humbert | 125-1 |
| Gael Monfils | 150-1 |
| Fabio Fognini | 150-1 |
| Cristian Garin | 150-1 |
| Frances Tiafoe | 150-1 |
| Marton Fucsovics | 150-1 |
| Marin Cilic | 150-1 |
| Taylor Fritz | 200-1 |
| Filip Krajinovic | 200-1 |
| Lorenzo Musetti | 200-1 |
| Kevin Anderson | 200-1 |
| Vasek Pospisil | 200-1 |
| Benoit Paire | 200-1 |
| Jan Lennard Struff | 200-1 |
| Jeremy Chardy | 200-1 |
| Marcos Giron | 200-1 |
| Richard Gasquet | 200-1 |
| Sam Querrey | 200-1 |
| Steve Johnson | 200-1 |
| Tennys Sandgren | 200-1 |
| Tommy Paul | 250-1 |
| Emil Ruusuvuori | 300-1 |