NEW YORK (AP) — Get ready for the U.S. Open before play begins Monday with a guide that tells you everything you need to know about how to watch the year's last Grand Slam tennis tournament, what the schedule is, what the betting odds are, who the defending champions are and more:
HOW TO WATCH THE U.S. OPEN ON TV—In the U.S.: ESPN (ABC on Sept. 3)
— Other countries are listed here.
THE SINGLES SCHEDULE—Monday-Tuesday: First Round (Women and Men)
—Aug. 30-31: Second Round (Women and Men)
—Sept. 1-2: Third Round (Women and Men)
—Sept. 3-4: Fourth Round (Women and Men)
—Sept. 5-6: Quarterfinals (Women and Men)
—Sept. 7: Women’s Semifinals
—Sept. 8: Men’s Semifinals
—Sept. 9: Women’s Final
—Sept. 10: Men’s Final
MONDAY AND TUESDAYThe full schedules for Days 1 and 2 have not been released, but we do know who will play first-round matches on which day. So Monday will include Novak Djokovic in his first U.S. Open match in two years after being unable to enter the United States in 2022 because he isn't vaccinated against COVID-19 — along with the rest of the bottom half of the men's draw. Also in action Monday will be defending champion Iga Swiatek and 19-year-old American Coco Gauff — along with the rest of the top half of the women's draw. That means Carlos Alcaraz, Venus Williams and Aryna Sabalenka will be on court Tuesday.
BETTING FAVORITESDjokovic moved to a plus-110 money-line pick to win the men's title after Thursday's draw and he remained there Friday — he had been at plus-130 on Wednesday — according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz went from plus-160 to plus-175, which folks might find enticing. Djokovic has been the U.S. Open favorite since right after he lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final last month. Daniil Medvedev, who beat Djokovic to win the 2021 title at Flushing Meadows, is next for the U.S. Open at plus-1,000, a big jump from the plus-750 he was listed at before the draw. Frances Tiafoe, a surprise semifinalist at the 2022 U.S. Open, dropped to the eighth pick Friday at plus-6,500 to leave New York with the trophy. Andy Murray — 36 and with an artificial hip — keeps rising, all the way to plus-23,000 on Friday. For the women, Iga Swiatek is the top choice at plus-230 on Friday, a little lower than the plus-240 from before the draw; she's the defending champion and is No. 1 in the WTA rankings. She is followed by Aryna Sabalenka, who won the Australian Open title in January, at plus-470. Coco Gauff, the 19-year-old American, moved from plus-1,600 to the third choice at plus-700. Last year's Wimbledon champion, Elena Rybakina, is next at plus-850, followed by the top American, Jessica Pegula, at plus-1,000.
A LOOK AT THE DRAWDjokovic’s return after missing the U.S. Open last year because he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19 will come against an opponent, Alexandre Muller, who never has played in the tournament. Thursday's draw also put Swiatek and Gauff into a possible quarterfinal matchup. Another intriguing quarterfinal could be Alcaraz against Jannik Sinner. They met in that round a year ago in New York and Alcaraz’s thrilling five-set victory ended at 2:50 a.m., the latest finish in U.S. Open history.
GET CAUGHT UPWhat to read heading into the U.S. Open:
— A year after Serena Williams and Roger Federer retired, tennis is in a state of transition
— Coco Gauff just won her two biggest titles and is a serious trophy contender in New York
— Billie Jean King's push for equal prize money is being celebrated a half-century later
— John Isner, winner of the 70-68 marathon at Wimbledon, will retire after the U.S. Open
— Men's tennis is heading to Saudi Arabia with the ATP Next Gen Finals
— Video review on double bounces will make its Grand Slam debut at Flushing Meadows
— Women will use the same tennis balls as the men after using different equipment for years
— There are very few female coaches in professional tennis
— A look at some of the top women in the U.S. Open field
— A look at some of the top men in the U.S. Open field
— Nick Kyrgios will be absent from the Grand Slam stage again
THE BASICSThe site in New York is the Billie Jean King USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows. The surface is hard courts. Women play best-of-three-set matches; men play best-of-five-set matches.
THE DEFENDING CHAMPIONSSwiatek defeated Ons Jabeur 6-2, 7-6 (5) to collect her first U.S. Open championship and third Grand Slam title overall — a total she increased to four by winning the French Open in June. Alcaraz got past Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (1), 6-3 to become, at 19, the first teenager to win the men's trophy at Flushing Meadows since Pete Sampras in 1990. The victory also allowed Alcaraz to rise to No. 1 in the ATP rankings for the first time.
PRIZE MONEYTotal player compensation is rising to a record $65 million, up from about $60 million in 2022. This is the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Open becoming the sport’s first event to pay women and men the same, and both singles champions will get $3 million in 2023. That's below the pre-pandemic pay of $3.9 million for each winner in 2019.
WHO IS MISSINGThree recent superstars of the sport will not be in New York: Roger Federer and Serena Williams have retired, and Rafael Nadal is recovering from surgery for a hip problem. Other top players absent include two-time U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka (gave birth in July), two-time major champions Simona Halep (provisional doping ban) and Garbiñe Muguruza (taking a break from the tour), 2016 U.S. Open champion Angelique Kerber (gave birth in February), 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic (injured), 2022 Wimbledon runner-up Nick Kyrgios (injured), Denis Shapovalov (injured) and Reilly Opelka (injured).
LOOK WHO’S BACKCaroline Wozniacki received a wild-card entry from the U.S. Tennis Association when she announced in June she would be coming out of retirement at age 33. She won the 2018 Australian Open and twice was the runner-up at the U.S. Open before stepping away from the sport in 2020 to start a family. She and her husband, former NBA player David Lee, have two children.
TRY A TENNIS QUIZTry your hand at the AP’s U.S. Open quiz.
STATS TO KNOW249 — Novak Djokovic's career victories over opponents ranked in the Top 10.
11-1 — Coco Gauff's record since a first-round loss at Wimbledon.
WORDS TO KNOW“He's 36. Seems like he’s 16, how he’s moving around and stuff.” — Frances Tiafoe, a U.S. Open semifinalist last year, discussing Novak Djokovic.
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