Nadal and Alcaraz would meet in the semifinals of the US Open

The Balearic will have a path to grow in search of his 23rd 'great'

Tough revalidation for Badosa and Muguruza

MADRID, 25 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal will debut against the Australian Rinky Hijikata at the US Open, the last 'Grand Slam' of the season that begins this Monday in New York, after a draw this Thursday in which Novak Djokovic was not present and in which he shares a table with his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.

Nadal, who fell in his debut at the Masters 1,000 in Cincinnati, came out well from a draw that did not leave him with important starting bones to take advantage of the first games as filming. The Spaniard has barely been able to compete, pampering a last injury to his abdomen.

The 'big' 22 champion withdrew before his Wimbledon semifinal and reappeared in 'Cincy' with defeat. Nadal could have Fabio Fognini, Miomir Kecmanovic, Diego Schwartzman, Cameron Norrie and Denis Shapovalov come his way at the US Open, by ranking.

The semifinal clash would be against an Alcaraz that last year reached the quarterfinals in the Big Apple. The Murcian will have a more demanding path since his debut with the Argentine Sebas Báez, Federico Coria, Borna Coric, Dan Evans or Jannik Sinner. On the other side of the table, as number one in the world, is the Russian Daniil Medvedev.

The current champion puts the ranking at stake with five players with options to come out as number one in New York. The best placed in fact is Nadal, since the Spaniard does not defend any point due to his absence last year at the US Open. The men's draw was marked by the non-presence of Djokovic, who shortly before announced his withdrawal from the tournament, after failing to obtain permission to enter the United States without being vaccinated against the coronavirus.

As for the Spaniards, Roberto Bautista will debut against the American Jeffrey Wolf; Pablo Carreno-Dominic Thiem; Alejandro Davidovich-Yoshihito Nishioka; Pablo Andújar-Tomás Etcheverry; Bernabé Zapata-Tommy Paul; Jaume Munar against Roberto Carballés and Pedro Martínez and Albert Ramos, against previous rivals.

On the other hand, on the WTA circuit, the American Serena Williams was paired in the first round against the Montenegrin Danka Kovinic, pending her entire country and the sports world of her possible goodbye to tennis. Meanwhile, the Spanish Garbiñe Muguruza shares a box with the number one in the world Iga Swiatek.

The 'Spanish-Venezuelan', who is still immersed in a bad season, will debut with the Danish Clara Tauson. Meanwhile, Paula Badosa, also looking to recover the best version of herself, will make her debut against the Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko and will have little respite before finding tough opposition with Azarenka, Bencic or Pliskova Raducanu.

Meanwhile, the also Spanish Sara Sorribes and Nuria Párrizas will debut in the last 'big' of the year against a rival from the previous one and the Hungarian tennis player Dalma Galfi, respectively.