US Open 2020 draw: Novak Djokovic begins against Damir Dzumhur as Serena Williams takes on Kristie Ahn

Elsewhere, Andy Murray has a tough path to the latter stages, and fellow Britons Johanna Konta and Heather Watson square off in the first round

Three-time US Open champion Novak Djokovic (AFP)

World No1 Novak Djokovic will begin his bid for a fourth US Open title by taking on Damir Dzumhur in the first round in New York.

In the absence of defending champion Rafael Nadal – who cited concerns over coronavirus when withdrawing from the hard-court Grand Slam – and the injured Roger Federer, Djokovic is the favourite to lift the trophy at Flushing Meadows. If he is successful, the Serb will move to within one major of Nadal, who is on 19, and two of Federer, who has 20.

Nick Kyrgios was another player to opt out of the tournament, which begins on Sunday, due to his wariness over Covid-19, improving the chances of No2 seed Dominic Thiem – who takes on Jaume Munar in the first round – as well as last year’s runner-up Daniil Medvedev, who faces Federico Delbonis in his first match.

Elsewhere, reigning ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitispas, the No4 seed, comes up against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Alexander Zverev, seeded fifth, faces two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson.

Wild card Andy Murray has a first-round match against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka ahead of him, and the 2012 champion could take on 20-year-old hotshot Felix Auger Aliassime in the second round ahead of a potential third-round clash with fellow Briton Dan Evans.

In the women’s draw, defending champion Bianca Andreescu was absent, as was world No1 Ashleigh Barty.

As a result, Karolina Pliskova is top seed, and she takes on Anhelina Kalinina in the first round, while six-time champion Serena Williams – who finished as runner-up in 2018 and 2019 – prepares to face fellow American Kristie Ahn.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka, champion in 2018, is seeded fourth and will play compatriot Misaki Doi in her first match. Moments before the draw got under way, Osaka revealed she had reversed her decision to pull out of the Western & Southern Open semi-finals. Her original decision came in protest of the shooting of black American Jacob Blake by police.

Sixteen-year-old sensation Coco Gauff of America faces 31st seed Anastasija Sevastova in the first round, while Britons Johanna Konta and Heather Watson square off.

Here are the full singles draws for the 2020 US Open:

Men’s:

N. Djokovic [1] vs D. Dzumhur
K. Edmund vs A. Bublik
J. Sousa vs M. Mmoh
P. Martinez vs J. Struff [28]
P. Carreno-Busta [20] vs Y. Uchiyama
M. Krueger vs P. Sousa
F. Gaio vs R. Berankis
S. Johnson vs J. Isner [16]
D. Shapovalov [12] vs S. Korda
T. Kwiatkowski vs K. Soon-woo
M. Safwat vs G. Simon
D. Koepfer vs T. Fritz [19]
F. Krajinovic [26] vs M. Ymer
M. Giron vs M. Polmans
L. Harris vs M. Cecchinato
R. Opelka vs D. Goffin [7]
S. Tsitsipas [4] vs A. Ramos-Vinolas
M. Cressy vs J. Kovalik
J. Londero vs E. Donskoy
P. Andujar vs B. Coric [27]
D. Lajovic [18] vs E. Gerasimov
S. Travaglia vs J. Thompson
A. Balazs vs M. Kukushkin
U. Blanch vs C. Garin [13]
D. Schwartzman [9] vs C. Norrie
J. Jung vs F. Coria
A. Davidovich Fokina vs D. Novak
P. Gojowczyk vs H. Hurkacz [24]
A. Mannarino [32] vs L. Sonego
J. Sock vs P. Cuevas
P. Lorenzi vs B. Nakashima
K. Anderson vs A. Zverev [5]
M. Berettini [6] vs G. Soeda
Y. Sugita vs U. Humbert
E. Ruusuvuori vs A. Bedene
M. McDonald vs C. Ruud [30]
B. Paire [17] vs K. Majchrzak
S. Caruso vs J. Duckworth
T. Daniel vs G. Barrere
J. Chardy vs A. Rublev [10]
G. Dimitrov [14] vs T. Paul
M. Fucsovics vs H. Dellien
F. Tiafoe vs A. Seppi
J. Millman vs N. Basilashvili [22]
G. Pella [29] vs J. Wolf
F. Lopez vs R. Carballes Baena
C. O'Connell vs L. Djere
F. Delbonis vs D. Medvedev [3]
R. Bautista Agut [8] vs T. Sandgren
G. Mager vs M. Kecmanovic
V. Pospisil vs P. Kohlschreiber
L. Mayer vs M. Raonic [25]
A. De Minaur [21] vs A. Martin
I. Karlovic vs R. Gasquet
A. Kuznetsov vs. S. Querrey
J. Sinner vs K. Khachanov [11]
F. Auger-Aliassime [15] vs T. Monteiro
A. Murray vs Y. Nishioka
C. Moutet vs J. Vesely
T. Seyboth Wild vs D. Evans [23]
M. Cilic [31] vs D. Kudla
N. Combos vs R. Albot
S. Nagal vs B. Klahn
J. Munar vs D. Thiem [2] 

The women’s and men’s US Open trophies (Getty Images for USTA)

Women’s:

Ka. Pliskova [1] vs A. Kalinina
J. Paolini vs C. Garcia
C. Bellis vs T. Korpatsch
A. Blinkova vs J. Brady [28]
A. Kerber [17] vs A. Tomljanovic
C. Dolehide vs A. Friedsam
A. Li vs A. Rus
T. Maria vs A. Riske [13]
M. Vondrousova [12] vs G. Minnen
F. Di Lorenzo vs A. Sasnovich
V. Golubic vs V. Lapko
R. Montgomery vs Y. Putintseva [23]
K. Mladenovic [30] vs H. Baptiste
V. Gracheva vs P. Badosa
K. Bondarenko vs A. Kiick
T. Martincova vs P. Martic [8]
N. Osaka [4] vs M. Doi
C. Giorgi vs A. Van Uytvanck
M. Kostyuk vs D. Kasatkina
C. Gauff vs A. Sevastova [31]
M. Linette [24] vs M. Inglis
D. Kovinic vs L. Cabrera
U. Arconada vs K. Juvan
D. Collins vs A. Kontaveit [14]
E. Rybakina [11] vs K. Zavatska
I. Khromacheva vs S. Rogers
M. Brengle vs L. Tsurenko
A. Sharma vs D. Yastremska [19]
R. Peterson [32] vs K. Flipkens
M. Bouzkova vs J. Pegula
K. Kozlova vs W. Osuigwe
I. Begu vs P. Kvitova [6]
M. Keys [7] vs T. Babos
J. Teichmann vs A. Bolsova
L. Davis vs A. Cornet
Y. Bonaventure vs S. Zhang [25]
D. Vekic [18] vs Kr. Pliskova
P. Tig vs. K Nara
T. Pironkova vs L. Samsonova
N. HIbino vs G. Muguruza [10]
M. Sakkari [15] vs S. Voegele
B. Pera vs Z. Diyas
N. Vikhlyantseva vs K. Scott
V. Tomova vs A. Anisimova [22]
S. Stephens [26] vs M. Buzarnescu
V. Diatchenko vs O. Govortsova
M. Gasparyan vs M. Puig
K. Ahn vs S. Williams [3]
A. Sabalenka [5] vs O. Dodin
V. Azarenka vs B. Haas
S. Vickery vs T. Townsend
I. Swiatek vs V. Kudermetova [29]
K. Muchova [20] vs V. Williams
A. Kalinskaya vs N. Stojanovic
S. Cirstea vs C. McHale
H. Watson vs J. Konta [9]
E. Mertens [16] vs L. Siegemund
C. Liu vs S. Sorribes Tormo
V. Kuzmova vs C. McNally
K. Clijsters vs E. Alexandrova [21]
O. Jabeur [27] vs K. Kawa
K. Siniakova vs K. Kanepi
V. Zvonareva vs L. Fernandez
Y. Wickmayer vs S. Kenin [2]