Andy Murray has been handed a kind draw on his return to grand slam tennis after being paired with Australian James Duckworth in the US Open first round.
Murray is set to play his first major since Wimbledon 2017 and could have been drawn against any of the top seeds, but instead landed world number 445 Duckworth.
The Scot, who won the US Open in 2012, is only seven matches back from a hip injury that derailed his career for almost a year.
Duckworth, like Murray, has got into the main draw using his protected ranking after also suffering from injury.
3rd seed @delpotrojuan will take on a qualifier in R1, with a potential R3 match against Andy Murray!#USOpenhttps://t.co/EHM9hUldJm pic.twitter.com/NBLB6hXQg4
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) August 23, 2018
British number one Kyle Edmund has been drawn against unseeded Italian Paolo Lorenzi.
Edmund, seeded 16th, has never got past the fourth round at Flushing Meadows and is on course for a fourth round meeting with Rafael Nadal if he gets that far.
British number two Cameron Norrie is also up against an Australian in the shape of Jordan Thompson.
Defending champion Nadal opens up against compatriot David Ferrer, who is playing at the US Open for the final time.
Second seed and five-time champion Roger Federer begins his pursuit for a first title since 2008 against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka and Novak Djokovic is a potential quarter-final opponent for the Swiss.
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Sixth seed @DjokerNole could meet five-time @usopen ? @rogerfederer in the #USOpen QF.
Djokovic leads FedEx ATP H2H series 24-22, including their most recent battle in the @cincytennis final.
More ➡️ https://t.co/mTg35z21DW #ATP pic.twitter.com/Z0G66DeqbL
— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) August 23, 2018
Djokovic, who won Wimbledon last month, starts against Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
The women’s draw has not been so kind to Johanna Konta, who will face sixth seed Caroline Garcia in the first round.
Konta has paid the price for her ranking plummeting after a poor year and is unseeded.
Projected #USOpen Quarterfinals:
Halep-PliskovaStephens-SvitolinaKerber-GarciaWozniacki-Kvitova
— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) August 23, 2018
She is the only British woman in the main draw by right, with Heather Watson and Katie Swan still in qualifying to make it into the first round.
Serena Williams, seeded 17th, will face Pole Magda Linette and could meet her sister Venus in the third round.
World number one Simona Halep faces Kaia Kanepi, defending champion Sloane Stephens meets Evgenia Medvedeva and world number two Caroline Wozniacki is up against former US Open champion Sam Stosur.
