NEW YORK (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz will open the defense of his U.S. Open title against an opponent who made a strong run at Wimbledon while the Spaniard was sidelined with an injury.Along with some interesting opening-round matches, the draws for men’s and women’s singles Thursday delivered one what-could-have-been possibility: Had Serena Williams decided to play, there could have been a Williams sisters showdown in Round 1.When Venus Williams was given a wild card into the event at 46, the U.S. Tennis Association initially held one spot, which surely would have gone to Serena if the six-time U.S. Open champion wanted to play after returning to tennis for the first time since 2022. When the 44-year-old decided to only compete in doubles, the USTA awarded that last wild card over the weekend to American Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion.
On Thursday, Venus Williams and Kenin were randomly drawn to face each other.Main draw play at the final Grand Slam tournament of the season begins Sunday.Alcaraz is the No. 2 seed and will face Roman Safiullin. It will be Alcaraz’s first singles match since April, after the two-time U.S. Open champion was forced to miss the French Open and Wimbledon because of a right wrist injury.The Spaniard returned to play with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles tournament and looked rusty. He may have to be sharper against Safiullin, who reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, upsetting Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca along the way before falling to 24-time Grand Slam singles champion Novak Djokovic in four sets.
