Federer may run into Djokovic
KEY MATCHES
NEW YORK: Five-time champion Roger Federer could find himself up against Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the US Open.
Federer, the second seed, opens against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, anchoring a bottom quarter of the men’s singles draw announced on Thursday that also features sixth-seeded Djokovic, the reigning Wimbledon champion who bested the Swiss great in the final at the Cincinnati Masters last week.
Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev and seventh-seeded Marin Cilic, the 2014 US Open champion, are also in Federer’s half of the draw. So is mercurial Nick Kyrgios, the 30th seed who could face Federer in the third round.
Spain’s Nadal opens his defence against a familiar foe in fellow Spaniard David Ferrer in a rematch of their 2013 French Open final.
Andy Murray was handed a relatively gentle return to the major stage, drawing Australian James Duckworth, ranked 445th in the world, in the opening round.
TOUGH FOR SERENA
Serena Williams, who is aiming for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title at this year’s U.S. Open, was handed a tough path to the final after being drawn in the same quarter as older sister Venus and world No 1 Simona Halep.
Serena, a six-time champion in New York who is seeded 17th, will start her campaign against Polish world No 60 Magda Linette and could face Venus in the third round before a possible
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fourth-round showdown with Romanian top seed Halep.
In her last bid to match Australian Margaret Court’s record haul of Grand Slam titles, the 36-year-old Williams came up one win shy as she fell to German Angelique Kerber in the Wimbledon final.
FIFA SANCTION
GENEVA: FIFA hit the Palestinian Football Association chief with a year-long “match” ban after he called for protests against Lionel Messi over plans for Argentina to play Israel in Jerusalem.
FIFA sanctioned PFA president Jibril Rajoub for breaching codes against “inciting hatred and violence... following media statements he gave calling on fans to target the Argentinian Football Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Messi.”