Fedex, Djoker in line for quarters showdown

New York, Aug. 24: Fivetime champion Roger Federer could find himself up against Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals of the US Open, where Serena and Venus Williams could meet in a third- round blockbuster.

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 seventhseeded Marin Cilic are also in Federer’s half of the draw. So is Australian Nick Kyrgios, the 30th seed who could face Federer in the third round.

Top seed and defending champion Rafael 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.

In the same quarter, eighth- seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria received a nightmare draw: a first- round meeting with 2016 champion Stan Wawrinka, who received a wild card after missing last year through injury.

On the women’s side, the Williams sisters feature in a talent- laden top quarter headed by world number one Simona Halep.

Serena, seeking a recordequalling 24th Grand Slam title, is seeded 17th despite her world number 26 ranking.

Serena opens against Poland’s Magda Linette, but her seeding won’t protect her from a possible third- round clash with her 16th- seeded sister.

It would be their earliest meeting in a Grand Slam since Venus beat Serena in the second round of the 1998 Australian Open.

But Venus faces a potentially difficult first round match against 2004 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who received a wild card into the main draw as she continues her return from left wrist surgery