Djokovic and Serena Headline 2015 U.S. Open Singles Seeds
The USTA has announced that world number one Novak Djokovic and five-time U.S. Open champion Roger Federer have been named the top two seeds, respectively, in men’s singles at the 2015 U.S. Open, headlining five U.S. Open and six Grand Slam champions to earn Top-10 seeds. On the women’s side of the draw, world number one and three-time defending U.S. Open champion Serena Williams has been named the top seed in women’s singles.
The 2015 US Open will be played Aug. 31-Sept. 13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. The U.S. Open Men’s Singles Championship is presented by Mercedes-Benz.
In addition to Djokovic (2011) and Federer (2004-2008), former U.S. Open champions Andy Murray (2012), Rafael Nadal (2010 & 2013) and Marin Cilic (2014) are all seeded in the Top 10, with Murray at number three, Nadal at eight and Cilic at nine. Kei Nishikori, a U.S. Open finalist last year, is seeded fourth. Reigning French Open champion Stan Wawrinka is seeded fifth.
The 28-year-old Djokovic is 56-5 this year, and won his eighth and ninth Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, respectively. Federer, the 17-time major champion, regained the world number two ranking this week after defeating Djokovic to win the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati for the seventh time. Murray comes into the U.S. Open as the Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series men’s champion and will attempt to set a record for the largest payout in tennis history–$4.3 million ($3.3 million for winning the U.S. Open and a $1 million bonus for winning the U.S. Open as Emirates Airline U.S. Open Series champion).
Federer is seeded at the U.S. Open for the 15th straight year, surpassing Ivan Lendl for second longest streak in the Open Era, trailing only Jimmy Connors’ 18 consecutive years.
This is the fourth time that Serena has been the top seed at the U.S. Open. She won the title on all prior occasions (2002, 2013 and 2014). Following Serena will be the second seeded Simona Halep of Romania, a 2014 French Open finalist; number three and 2006 U.S. Open champion Maria Sharapova of Russia; number four and 2014 U.S. Open finalist Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark; number five Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, who won Wimbledon in 2011 and 2014; and number six Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic, this year’s French Open finalist.
Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, who reached the U.S. Open women’s final in 2012 and 2013, is seeded 20th. Two-time U.S. Open champion Venus Williams is seeded 23rd; 2011 champion Samantha Stosur is seeded 22nd; and 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia is seeded 30th.
Last year, Serena won her sixth U.S. Open crown, tying her with Chris Evert for the most U.S. Open Women’s Singles titles in the Open Era. This year, Serena is also going for the calendar Grand Slam at the U.S. Open, last won in 1988 by Steffi Graf. Serena won her 21st Grand Slam singles title at Wimbledon this summer, which ranks third all-time, just one behind Graf (an Open-era record of 22) and Margaret Court (24 all-time).
Number 19 Madison Keys and number 29 Sloane Stephens join Serena and Venus Williams as seeded American players.
The singles draws for the 2015 U.S. Open will be revealed live during an official draw ceremony on Thursday, Aug. 27 at 11:30 a.m. ET at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The draw will air live on ESPN3 and WatchESPN and on USOpen.org. Defending U.S. Open champions Serena Williams and Marin Cilic will make an appearance at the event.
2015 U.S. Open Men’s Singles Seeds
1. Novak Djokovic, Serbia
2. Roger Federer, Switzerland
3. Andy Murray, Great Britain
4. Kei Nishikori, Japan
5. Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland
6. Tomas Berdych, Czech Republic
7. David Ferrer, Spain
8. Rafael Nadal, Spain
9. Marin Cilic, Croatia
10. Milos Raonic, Canada
11. Gilles Simon, France
12. Richard Gasquet, France
13. John Isner, United States
14. David Goffin, Belgium
15. Kevin Anderson, South Africa
16. Gael Monfils, France
17. Grigor Dimitrov, Bulgaria
18. Feliciano Lopez, Spain
19. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, France
20. Dominic Thiem, Austria
21. Ivo Karlovic, Croatia
22. Viktor Troicki, Serbia
23. Roberto Bautista Agut, Spain
24. Bernard Tomic, Australia
25. Andreas Seppi, Italy
26. Tommy Robredo, Spain
27. Jeremy Chardy, France
28. Jack Sock, United States
29. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Germany
30. Thomaz Bellucci, Brazil
31. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Spain
32. Fabio Fognini, Italy
2015 U.S. Open Women’s Singles Seeds
1. Serena Williams, United States
2. Simona Halep, Romania
3. Maria Sharapova, Russia
4. Caroline Wozniacki, Denmark
5. Petra Kvitova, Czech Republic
6. Lucie Safarova, Czech Republic
7. Ana Ivanovic, Serbia
8. Karolina Pliskova, Czech Republic
9. Garbiñe Muguruza, Spain
10. Carla Suarez Navarro, Spain
11. Angelique Kerber, Germany
12. Belinda Bencic, Switzerland
13. Ekaterina Makarova, Russia
14. Timea Bacsinszky, Switzerland
15. Agnieszka Radwanska, Poland
16. Sara Errani, Italy
17. Elina Svitolina, Ukraine
18. Andrea Petkovic, Germany
19. Madison Keys, United States
20. Victoria Azarenka, Belarus
21. Jelena Jankovic, Serbia
22. Samantha Stosur, Australia
23. Venus Williams, United States
24. Sabine Lisicki, Germany
25. Eugenie Bouchard, Canada
26. Flavia Pennetta, Italy
27. Alizé Cornet, France
28. Irina-Camelia Begu, Romania
29. Sloane Stephens, United States
30. Svetlana Kuznetsova, Russia
31. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Russia
32. Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, Slovakia
