The draw ceremony of the 2025 US Open took place yesterday and there was a lot of anticipation to discover the potential path of the top favorites. In particular, everyone wanted to know the first opponent of world number 1 Jannik Sinner – who will try to defend the title won in New York a year ago – and Carlos Alcaraz, who won the first Major title of his young career at Flushing Meadows three years ago.
The Italian ace should not have any problems against Vit Kopriva if he has recovered from the malaise that forced him to retire during the final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000, instead Carlitos will not be able to afford distractions if he wants to avoid trouble against the American giant Reilly Opelka.
The latter is certainly a very dangerous rival on this surface, especially in the first round, in which the world number 2 has not found the right automatisms yet and could make more mistakes than usual.
Alcaraz will face Opelka
The five-time Grand Slam champion – who aims to return to the top of the ATP rankings by the end of this season (he could achieve his goal by winning this edition of the US Open) – risked a lot during the first round of the Wimbledon Championships, in which Italian veteran Fabio Fognini had used his ups and downs to take him all the way to the fifth set.
Opelka is still a very competitive player and defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in Brisbane earlier this year, which is why the star from Murcia will have to be extra careful.
Through his X profile, top analyst José Moron highlighted how Alcaraz was not particularly lucky in this circumstance: "Facing a player like Opelka in the first round is one of the worst draws that can happen. Carlos will have to face a player who has a monstrous serve and who will not give him any rhythm from baseline."
Reilly currently occupies the 66th position in the ATP rankings, but he has been in the Top 20 in the past and will be able to play without pressure.
