AFP, New York :
World number ones Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic will launch their bids for the US Open title on Monday’s first day of competition, tournament organizers announced Friday.
In a Twitter posting, the tournament said top halves of brackets on both the men’s and women’s draws would play matches on the first day of competition.
That means three-time defending champion Williams, trying to complete the first calendar-year Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988, will meet Russia’s Vitalia Diatchenko on day one, likely in a feature match on Arthur Ashe Stadium and quite possibly in the night session opener.
Williams, coming off her fourth consecutive major title last month at Wimbledon, seeks her 22nd career Grand Slam singles title, which would match Graf for the all-time Open Era record and move her two shy of Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24.
Djokovic, seeking his second US Open crown, will face Brazil’s Joao Souza in his opener on Monday while his possible quarter-final opponent, Spanish star Rafael Nadal, begins Monday against Croatia’s Borna Coric.
