Djokovic Headlines U.S. Open Men’s Draw

The USTA has announced that world number one Novak Djokovic, Wimbledon finalist Roger Federer, and defending champion Marin Cilic lead the men’s singles field for the 2015 U.S. Open. The field features five former U.S. Open champions, including Djokovic (2011), five-time champion Federer (2004-2008), two-time champion Rafael Nadal (2010 and 2013), Andy Murray (2012), and defending champion Cilic (2014). Each of the world’s top 99 men received direct entry into the US Open, representing 40 countries.

Leading the entry list is Djokovic, world number one, who has reached the U.S. Open finals five times, winning the title in 2011. He won his eighth and ninth major singles titles this year at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

World number two Federer is the all-time leader with 17 major singles titles, and was bidding for his eighth Wimbledon title this month before falling to Djokovic in the final. Federer is competing for his sixth U.S. Open title, which would surpass Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors for the most U.S. Open men’s singles titles in the Open Era.

Great Britain’s Murray, the world number three, won the U.S. Open in 2012 after winning the Olympic Gold Medal in London. He also won Wimbledon in 2013, where he became the first British man in 77 years to win the championship, and reached the Australian Open final this year, losing to Djokovic.

Stanislas Wawrinka, the Swiss world number four and a 2013 U.S. Open semifinalist, won his first major singles championship at the Australian Open in 2014, joining Juan Martin del Potro (2009 U.S. Open) and Cilic (2014 U.S. Open) as the only men outside the “Big Four” of Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray to win a Grand Slam since the 2005 French Open. Wawrinka also won this year’s French Open title, defeating Djokovic.

Filling out the field’s top 10 are: Number five Kei Nishikori of Japan, the 2014 U.S. Open finalist; number six Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, a 2012 U.S. Open semifinalist and 2010 Wimbledon finalist; number seven David Ferrer of Spain, the 2013 French Open finalist and two-time U.S. Open semifinalist (2007 and again in 2012); number eight Milos Raonic of Canada, a 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist; number nine Cilic of Croatia, the U.S. Open defending champion and 2010 Australian Open semifinalist; and number 10 Nadal of Spain, the 2010 and 2013 U.S. Open champion and 14-time Grand Slam champion.

Italy’s Marco Cecchinato, ranked 99th, is the last man to receive direct entry into the field of 128. Five players used a protected ranking to gain entry including number 25 Mardy Fish of the United States, number 25 Tommy Haas of Germany, number 34 Florian Mayer of Germany, number 39 Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, and number 57 Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic.

Sixteen more players will gain entry through the U.S. Open Qualifying Tournament, held Aug. 25-28, while the eight remaining spots are wild cards awarded by the USTA.

American men who received direct entry are number 18 John Isner of Greensboro, N.C.; number 31 Jack Sock of Lincoln, Neb.; number 34 Sam Querrey of Las Vegas; number 46 Steve Johnson of Orange, Calif.; number 55 Donald Young of Atlanta; number 75 Tim Smyczek of Tampa, Fla.; number 86 Rajeev Ram of Carmel, Ind.; and number 96 Denis Kudla of Arlington, Va.

The July 20 edition of the Emirates ATP Rankings was used to determine the U.S. Open main draw entry list. Seeds will be determined and announced closer to the start of the event.