1.Roger Federer lost the "who gets Andy Murray on his side of the draw" sweepstakes. The top-seeded Federer gets No. 3 seed and reigning Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray in a potential semifinal, while Novak Djokovic will enjoy an easier path to the final that would include No. 4 seed David Ferrer. Djokovic can thank the Rafael Nadal's balky knees for the easy draw.The rivals have played in the semis at the Open every year since 2008. Federer won the first two and Djokovic, famously, took the last two, saving match points in each. A potential meeting in the final would be their first in a Slam since the 2007 U.S. Open.Federer may have trouble getting that far, as his draw is far from a cakewalk. The five-time champ could see two-time quarterfinalist Fernando Verdasco in the third round, former top-10 player Mardy Fish in the fourth and the always-dangerous Tomas Berdych in the quarters. All told, this sets up to be one Federer's toughest draws in recent years.
2.On the women's side, the draw also didn't do any favors for top seed Victoria Azarenka. She could see big-serving Sabine Lisicki in the fourth round and faces a potential quarterfinal meeting with defending champion Sam Stosur. And they aren't even the biggest threats in the quarter. No. 23 seed Kim Clijsters is in Stosur's section. All she's done is go unbeaten at the Open since 2004. The Belgian won in 2005, 2010 and 2011. She missed the other years with injuries. Clijsters has said she'll retire after the tournament.
3. Serena Williams will have no complaints -- consider her draw a reward for her grueling back-to-back at Wimbledon and the Olympics. The next highest seed in Serena's draw is Caroline Wozniacki, a player who's hardly a threat while healthy, let alone with a nagging injury that affected her in a Thursday win over Dominika Cibulkova in New Haven.
4. Seeded players breathed a temporary sigh of relief when unseeded Venus Williams drew a wild card in the first round. Bethanie Mattek-Sands, a former seed herself, did not. The tattooed American has had bad enough luck with injuries over the past 18 months. She's played ITF events this summer, had to qualify to get into Cincinnati and needed a wild card for the U.S. Open. She'll play Venus in round one.
5. Speaking of struggling Americans with draws that won't help the rebuilding process: Donald Young made the fourth round at last year's U.S. Open, a result which was supposed to usher in a new era for the former American teen sensation. Instead of springboarding himself into a top player in the world, Young did a face plant. His record is 3-21 this year. His reward: A first-round meeting with Roger Federer.
6. This year's comeback hero, Brian Baker, has a winnable first-round match against No. 94 Jan Hajek. Baker, who was out of the game for seven years with various injuries, will be playing in his first U.S. Open since 2005, when he defeated French Open champion Gaston Gaudio in the first round. The American could face No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic in the second round.
7. Best first-round match: Juan Martin Del Potro (7) vs. David Nalbandian. An Argentine grudge match.
8. Best potential second-round match: Angelique Kerber (6) vs. Venus Williams. Could an Olympic rematch be at hand? Kerber, the rising German player, will have to go through Venus Williams if she wants to make her second-straight Open semifinal. The two women played in the London Olympics and Kerber gutted out a tough 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) victory.
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