By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, August 27, 2026
Photo credit: Jon Buckle/ROLEX
All major roads lead to New York for the final Grand Slam of the season.
The US Open draws were released shortly after noon today and present intriguing paths for several stars.
Here are our Top 5 Takeaways from the 2026 US Open men’s draw.
Carlitos’ Crushing Quarter
Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 2025 US Open title run with a Statue of Liberty tattoo on his arm.
Alcaraz could face some monumental challenges in his quest to capture his third US Open crown in the last five years.
Residing in the crushing bottom quarter—the toughest of the four quarters—Alcaraz opens against Roman Safiullin, a former Wimbledon quarterfinalist who beat Joao Fonseca at SW19 this year. It will be Alcaraz’s first singles match since April 14th when he tore through eight of the last 10 games dismissing Otto Virtanen 6-4, 6-2 in his Barcelona opener.
Alcaraz, who has been out with a right wrist injury, struggled to find his first serve in his US Open Mixed Doubles pairing with Serena Williams.
Given his injury-induced inactivity, Alcaraz could face this challenging path in Flushing Meadows:
*R1: Roman Safiullin
*R2: Jenson Brooksby (USA)
*R3: (30) Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
*R4: (15) Alexander Bublik (KAZ) or (20) Tommy Paul (USA)
*QF: (8) Ben Shelton (USA) or (10) Arthur Fils (FRA)
*SF: (4) Novak Djokovic (SRB)
Tommy Paul has twice beaten Alcaraz on hard court, though the Spaniard scored a straight-sets win over the American all-courter at the Australian Open in January. Alcaraz is 3-0 vs. the explosive Shelton and though Alcaraz crushed Fils in the Doha final 6-2, 6-1, earlier this season the Frenchman delivered dynamic tennis winning his biggest career title at the Cincinnati Open.
Yes, a healthy Alcaraz would be favored to come through this draw. However, it’s been more nearly six months since Alcaraz played a best-of-five set match, so how will he hold up physically? And can the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam shake off the rust fast enough to prepare for some potential seismic second-week showdowns.
Djokovic: Deep Drive
Knocked to his knees by the heat and Thiago Agustin Tirante in a Cincinnati loss, Novak Djokovic should bounce back in a big way in veteran-laden Queens quarter.
Continuing his chase for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam championship, Djokovic opens against a qualifier. Should he prevail, the 39-year-old Serbian superstar would face either Stan Wawrinka, in a rematch of the 2016 US Open final, or Matteo Berrettini, in a rematch of the 2021 Wimbledon final and 2021 US Open quarterfinal.
The good news for the four-time US Open champion: the forecast calls for moderate week one temperatures and the first seed Djokovic could possibly play is No. 27-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry. No. 7-seeded Daniil Medvedev, former US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe and Montreal finalist Brandon Nakashima are other threats, but overall, Djokovic should be very pleased with this draw.
Disruptors: Non Top 10 Seeds Who Can Do Damage
(12) Rafael Jodar (ESP)
A year ago, Jodar was ranked No. 540 playing Challengers in Poland and Greece and dreaming of the big stages.
Now, the 19-year Jodar is rocking elite opponents on some of the sport’s prestigious stages as he’s rocked up rankings showing the potential of a future to player. Jodar faces Thanasi Kokkinakis in his opener and would face either Fabian Marozsan or American wild card and Columbia University NCAA champion Michael Zheng in round two.
Washington, DC Finalist Jodar can boldly drive the ball down the line off both wings, has a high shot tolerance and could face off against No. 1 Alexander Zverev, who schooled the Spaniard in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, for a semifinal spot.
(14) Learner Tien (USA)
The flat-hitting Tien can construct acute angles, slides the lefty serve wide on the Ad side and owns 2026 hard-court wins over Ben Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul.
(23) Andrey Rublev
Rublev takes on 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in a demanding opening rounder. If Rublev, who played well partnering Mirra Andreeva to the mixed doubles partner, can get off to a good start and avoid emotional implosions, he can dictate with his second and forehand has reached the US Open fourth round or better in six of his last seven US Open appearances.
Zverev’s Favorable View from the Top
Alexander Zverev’s greatest Grand Slam season just got better.
The top seed, who defeated Flavio Cobolli to win his maiden major at Roland Garros, has won 13 of his last 14 Grand Slam matches.
Look for the Wimbledon finalist and 2020 US Open finalist to make a second-week run in New York. Zverev opens against Italian Lorenzo Sonego with his first real test potentially a fourth-round match vs. 2025 semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti.
Zverev, who squandered a two-set lead to Diminic Thiem in the 202 US Open final, is coming off a US Open third-round exit and figures to be pumped to make another second-week run this month.
Felix Flight Path
Seeded third for the second straight Slam, Felix Auger-Aliassime is coming off an epic five-hour, 15-minute loss to Novak Djokovic in a Wimbledon thriller.
Though FAA can go overlooked remember last year in New York, the Canadian conquered Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur and took a set from Jannik Sinner before losing their semifinal.
IF Auger-Aliassime is landing his first serve and imposing his all-court aggression, he’s a threat for a final four return.
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