Novak Djokovic vs Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner: Who has the easier draw at the US Open 2024?

Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are the top three seeds at the US Open 2024 and will be among the favorites to win the tournament. Djokovic will enter Flushing Meadows as the defending champion, having won a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam in the 2023 edition.

Alcaraz will also be one of the favorites to clinch the title in New York, after the Spainiard's historic achievements at Roland Garros and SW-19 at just 21 years of age. Jannik Sinner is the top seed and the World No. 1 and will look to have a good tournament, as he has never been past the quarter-final stage in New York in his career.

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Novak Djokovic has a moderately tough draw

The second seed will begin the campaign against Radu Albot of Moldova in the first round at the 2024 US Open. The Serb will have a potential match against Lalso Djere in the second round. Even though the World No. 2 is expected to win, Djere won the first two sets against Djokovic at the US Open last year.

Djokovic's third-round opponent will potentially be the newly crowned Canadian Open champion Alexei Popyrin. The duo have met twice in Grand Slams this year, with the Serb winning both those matches. However, Popyrin gave a good account of himself in those matches, both being tight four-setters. Djokovic will possibly face crowd favorite Ben Shelton in the fourth round.

Sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev and fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev will be the potential matches for Djokovic in the quarter and semi-finals respectively. Even though the matches might appear tricky, the Serb has a 5-1 and 8-4 lead in the head-to-head against the Russian and German players respectively. The Serb will then possibly take on either one of Sinner or Alcaraz in the final for the title.

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One of Alcaraz and Sinner can reach the final at the 2024 US Open

Since they are placed in the same half of the draw, only one of Carlos Alacaraz and Jannik Sinner can make it to the final, as the duo are likely to clash in the semi-final itself. Alcaraz will begin his campaign against Australian Qualifier Li Tu, followed by a possible interesting match against former Wimbledon semi-finalist Denis Shapovalov in the second round.

The third seed will have his first tricky encounter in the third round when he possibly takes on Jack Draper. Although Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 2-1, the Brit recently beat the Spaniard at the Queen's Club Championships. The Spaniard might face another tricky opponent in Sebastian Korda in the fourth round. The American is in good form and will have the crowd support.

One of Hubert Hurkacz or Alex de Minaur might be the potential opponent for Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. However, both players have faced fitness issues in recent times. While De Minaur will play his first tournament since suffering a hip injury at Wimbledon, Hurkacz underwent surgery for a meniscus tear after the grass-court Major and recently retired during his Cincinnati semifinal against Frances Tiafoe.

Jannik Sinner will begin his US Open by taking on McKenzie McDonald in the first round, with another potential American opponent Alex Michelsen in the second round. The Italian will have his first tricky match when he possibly faces Nicolas Jarry in the third round, with the Chilean winning the only match between the duo back in 2019.

The World No.1 might face a third American at the 2024 US Open, as the 14th-seeded Tommy Paul can be his potential opponent in the fourth round. The Quarter-final is where things get tough for the top seed, as he might either face Daniil Medvedev or Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Italian trails 5-7 in the head-to-head against Medvedev, and 3-6 against Tsitsipas. However, Sinner has had recent success against the Russian, beating him at the final of the Australian Open, and Tsitsipas has never made it past the third round at the US Open. Sinner will then have to potentially overcome the challenge of Alcaraz and Djokovic in the last two matches to win a second Major title.