Main draw of 2021’s final Grand Slam due to commence on Monday

Toronto, Thursday August 26, 2021 — The official draw for the 2021 US Open was made on Thursday as Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON), Félix Auger-Aliassime (Montreal, QC), Vasek Pospisil (Vernon, BC), Bianca Andreescu (Mississauga, ON) and Leylah Fernandez (Laval, QC) all learned of their first-round opponents in singles.

Shapovalov is the highest ranked Canadian in the men’s singles draw at No. 10 on the ATP Tour and will be the No. 7 seed for the tournament. His first opponent will be Federico Delbonis of Argentina in the opening round. This will be the pair’s first meeting of their careers. At last year’s US Open, Shapovalov claimed wins over two seeded players to reach the quarter-finals, where he was beaten in five sets by Pablo Carreno Busta. A win over Delbonis could see him face Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena in the next round with a potential clash against Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals.

No. 15-ranked Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, will face a qualifier in his opening-round match. The 21-year-old from Montreal, who is the tournament’s No. 12 seed, could face Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the second round and possibly either Roberto Bautista Agut or Nick Kyrgios in round three. Pospisil faces the tough task of Italy’s Fabio Fognini, who is seeded No. 28, in his first-round match. The Canadian could be in line to face No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini in the third round should he win his opening two encounters. Auger-Aliassime and Pospisil both reached the round of 16 in 2020.

In the women’s singles draw, No. 6 seed Andreescu will take on Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland in the first round. The 2019 US Open champion could face No. 27 seed Jelena Ostapenko in round three, No. 10 seed Petra Kvitova in the Round of 16 followed by No. 4 seed Karolina Pliskova in the quarter-finals and World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the semis. Andreescu was unable to defend her title at Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2020 as she focused on her match fitness following a sustained period out of action due to injury.

Fernandez, ranked No. 72 on the WTA Tour, will begin her US Open campaign against a qualifier with a potential match against No. 31 seed Yulia Putinseva of Kazakhstan in the second round. Win that and the 18-year-old could face two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka in round three. Last year, Fernandez bowed out of the event in the second round when she lost to No. 2 seed Sofia Kenin of the United States.

Canadian Rebecca Marino (Vancouver, BC) could join Andreescu and Fernandez in the main draw with the 30-year-old needing just two more wins in qualifying. The doubles draws for the 2021 US Open will be revealed the week of August 30.

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