US Open singles draws revealed, with Naomi Osaka slated to get a formidable fourth-round test
The two-time US Open champion could face Coco Gauff, Angelique Kerber, Madison Keys or Sloane Stephens in the round of 16.
Highlights: When Osaka and Gauff last met, last week in Cincinnati
This year's US Open singles draws have been revealed, with one part of the women's tournament standing out in particular.
Naomi Osaka, the 2018 and 2020 champion, is expected to make another deep run at Flushing Meadows. The No. 3 seed opens against Marie Bouzkova, with No. 31 seed Yulia Putintseva the highest-ranked opponent she could face through three rounds.
Get through that, though, and a supremely talented—and battle-tested—foe will await in the round of 16. It could be three-time Grand Slam champion Angelique Kerber; former US Open champion Sloane Stephens; former US Open runner-up Madison Keys (who will face Stephens in the first round); or Coco Gauff—who has yet to reach a major final, but may be the greatest potential challenge of all.
Last week in Cincinnati, the 17-year-old American took the first set from Osaka, 6-4, before dropping the next two. And the two have split matches at the Slams, with Osaka winning at the 2019 US Open, and Gauff prevailing last January at the Australian Open.
There's even the possibility of seeing Magda Linette across the net, who's currently in the semifinals of the WTA Cleveland tune-up.
That is, of course, if Osaka doesn't stumble herself.
While we can forecast some of the later-round matches, the pros will, as they say, take it one match at a time. As they should. So here are all of the matches, in both draws: