Arthur Ashe Stadium will be a historic crossroads next month.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is playing to complete the calendar Grand Slam and collect his 21st major championship to surpass rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as undisputed Grand Slam king.
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Four-time US Open champion Nadal, who has won 19 of his last 20 Flushing Meadows matches, and five-time champion Federer will try to make history of their own winning a 21st Grand Slam title.
The Big 3 of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer headline the entry list for the 2021 US Open released today. See the complete entry list here.
The US Open men’s singles field that features the Top 103 men in the world, including No. 6 and defending US Open champion Dominic Thiem (AUT), former US Open champions Stan Wawrinka (SUI) and Marin Cilic (CRO) and a Top-10 full of young challengers: No. 2 Daniil Medvedev (RUS), a 2019 US Open finalist; No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE), a 2021 French Open finalist; No. 5 Alexander Zverev (GER), a 2020 US Open finalist; No. 7 Andrey Rublev (RUS), second on the tour in wins this year; No. 8 Matteo Berrettini (ITA), a 2021 Wimbledon finalist; and No. 10 Denis Shapovalov (CAN), a 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist.
Djokovic, the singles champion at the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon this year, will come into New York with a chance to be the third man in history to win all four major singles titles in the same year, following Australian Rod Laver in 1969 and American Don Budge in 1938. Djokovic is also entered into the singles field at the Tokyo Olympics, meaning should he win the Gold Medal in singles there, he would have the chance to join Steffi Graf (1988) as the only players to ever complete the ‘Calendar Golden Slam.’
The 2021 US Open will be played Monday, August 30th to Sunday, September 12th at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y.
Lucas Pouille (FRA), a 2016 US Open quarterfinalist ranked No. 103, is the last man to receive direct entry, while 2012 US Open champion Andy Murray (GBR), ranked No. 104, is currently the first player on the alternate list. Only Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER) used a protected ranking (No. 96) to enter. Sixteen more players will gain entry through the US Open Qualifying Tournament, which will be held August 24-27.
Thirty-five countries are represented in the men’s entry list, with 10 Americans qualifying for direct entry: No. 32 Reilly Opelka (Palm Coast, Fla.) No. 37 Taylor Fritz (Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.), No. 39 John Isner (Greensboro, N.C./Dallas), No. 47 Sebastian Korda (Bradenton, Fla.), No. 53 Frances Tiafoe (Hyattsville, Md.), No. 54 Tommy Paul (Greenville, N.C.) No. 64 Marcos Giron (Thousand Oaks, Calif.), No. 70 Sam Querrey (Las Vegas), No. 82 Tennys Sandgren (Gallatin, Tenn.), No. 83 Steve Johnson (Orange, Calif.).
The July 19 edition of the ATP rankings was used to determine the US Open main draw entry list. Seeds will be determined and announced closer to the start of the event.
The 2021 US Open will mark the culmination of the US Open Series, the North American summer season of nine WTA and ATP Tour events that began last week in Newport, R.I.
Photo credit: US Open Facebook