US Open Tennis 2012 Draw: Breaking Down the Road for Top Stars
The 2012 US Open draw has been released, and there looks to be some stellar matchups ahead on both the men's and women's bracket.
Defending singles champions Novak Djokovic and Samantha Stosur will among the favorites at Flushing Meadows this summer, but will both have challenging paths to traverse to get back to the title.
Here, we break down the draw for some of the top players at the 2012 US Open.
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The entire men's draw can be seen here, and the women's draw is here.
Novak Djokovic
The reigning men's singles champ lucked out on the draw. Novak Djokovic won't have to worry about Roger Federer or Andy Murray until a potential final matchup.
No. 4 seed David Ferrer could present a challenge for Djokovic in the semifinals, but Nole is more likely to struggle against No. 7-seeded Juan Martin del Potro, who beat him in the Olympic bronze medal match in London earlier this summer.
2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, who is in Novak's bracket, has the experience to hang with Djokovic if the two meet up at some point, but he's unlikely to upset the world No. 2.
Djokovic has a date with Italian tennis player Paolo Lorenzi in the first round.
Roger Federer
The No. 1-seeded player on the men's side, Roger Federer will have a difficult road to reach the final this summer. The biggest challenge in his draw looks to be No. 3 seed Andy Murray, whom he would meet in the semifinals.
Murray dominated Fed thoroughly in Olympic gold-medal match earlier this month at Wimbledon. And he'll have momentum on his side if the two meet in the semifinals this September. Considering Fed's tough draw, it's hard to imagine him winning an Open Era record sixth career US Open title in 2012.
Federer will open up against American Donald Young in the first round.
The No. 1-seeded player on the women's side, Victoria Azarenka will have to get through the defending US Open female champion in order to reach the semifinals. The 23-year-old Belarus native could potentially meet up with last year's winner, No. 7 Samantha Stosur in the quarterfinals.
If Azarenka meets Stosur, and can get past the strong Australian, then she could be pitted against Maria Sharapova, who is seeded No. 3 at this year's tournament.
Azarenka will take on Russian Alexandra Panova in the first round at Flushing Meadows.
The defending Wimbledon champion and Olympic gold medalist has a very favorable draw at this year's US Open. Williams will open up against Coco Vandeweghe, whom she beat recently at the Bank of the West Classic in July.
Williams won't have to worry about meeting up with Maria Sharapova until the final either, which should make a deep run at Flushing Meadows that much easier.
The No. 4 seed has a mountain of momentum on her side coming into the season's final Grand Slam, and she should cruise past No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki, one of the notable players in her bracket en route to an appearance in the women's final.
Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter For More Reaction and Analysis on the 2012 US Open This Summer.
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