US Open draw announced: Murray handed first round test against Kyrgios

Andy Murray has been given a tricky start to his bid for a second US Open title, as the Brit will face Nick Kyrgios in the first round.

Even though the young Australian has been recently making headlines for the wrong reasons, Kyrgios is still widely regarded as a rising star of the game and has proven to be dangerous against the very best players, as shown by his impressive wins over Federer and Nadal.

However, should Murray progress through the draw, potential opponents that lie in wait for him include his countryman James Ward, Kevin Anderson and Adrian Mannarino. The Brit could play Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals and may have to overcome Roger Federer in the semi-final if he is to reach a likely blockbuster finals clash against Novak Djokovic.

The Serbian world number one opens his account against Joao Souza, and could face Rafael Nadal in quarter-finals, followed by a potential semi-final against Kei Nishikori. Looking at Nadal’s section of the draw, the Spaniard faces Borna Coric in the first round but may need to navigate past players that have already registered wins over him this year, with Fabio Fognini, Feliciano Lopez, Fernando Verdasco and Milos Raonic lurking as possible opponents.

Last year’s finalists Kei Nishikori and Marin Cilic are also on course for a quarter-final showdown, but both face difficult opponents en route, with the Japanese player grouped with Alexandr Dolgopolov, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils, whilst Cilic has Grigor Dimitrov and David Ferrer to contend with in his quarter.

Meanwhile, Roger Federer will get his campaign underway against Leonardo Mayer, with Marcos Baghdatis, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Ivo Karlovic and Tomas Berdych all possible opponents that the Swiss maestro could meet.

On the women’s side, Serena Williams may need to see off a few of her fellow Americans such as Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and her sister Venus before a likely semi-final encounter against either Maria Sharapova or Ana Ivanovic. Should she reach the final to give herself a chance of winning all four grand-slams this year, Williams could face Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep or Petra Kvitova, who are all in the opposite half of the draw.