Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic on same side of 2026 U.S. Open draw

Novak Djokovic. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic on same side of 2026 U.S. Open draw

By Alan Rubenstein | Last updated Aug 27, 2026 3:08 PM ET

The U.S. Open Men's and Women's Draws were released on Thursday. \

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic appearing on the same side of the Men's bracket was the most notable draw. The development is significant for top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Zverev is the top seed with Jannik Sinner withdrawing with a knee injury. Alcaraz fell from second to third in the ATP rankings after missing the last four months with an injury. The U.S. Open is the first singles tournament for Alcaraz since withdrawing from Barcelona in April.

Zverev should not be tested until the fourth round, where he is projected to face 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti, although Musetti has a difficult first-round match against Wimbledon semifinalist Arthur Fery, who lost to Zverev.

Take a look at Djokovic's and Alcaraz's quarters pic.twitter.com/PHKRQwa3ST
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 27, 2026

Other notable parts of the draw

After Musetti, Zverev's path to the finals could be sixth-seeded Alex De Minaur in the quarterfinals and third-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals. Alcaraz's path may be 30th-seed Matteo Arnaldi in the third round, 15-seed Alexander Bublik in the quarters and No. 8 Ben Shelton of the United States in the quarters.

Djokovic's is projected to play 27th-seeded Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 16th-seeded American Brandon Nakashima and No. 7 Daniil Medvedev. Nakashima could be Djokovic's toughest match as he aims to reach the semifinals.

In addition to Nakashima and Shelton, other American seeds are Taylor Fritz, ninth, Francis Tiafoe, 11th, Learner Tien, 14th and Tommy Paul, 20th. Fritz won the title in Washington DC and Shelton in Montreal, before losing his first match in Cincinnati. The U.S. Open begins first-round play on Sunday.

Alan Rubenstein

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