US Open Tennis 2018 Draw: Date, Time, Live-Stream Info and More

Reigning champions Rafael Nadal and Sloane Stephens will discover their paths to defending their titles in New York City on Friday when the draw for the 2018 U.S. Open takes place.

The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center will host the final major of the year and the last Grand Slam in which we'll see 32 seeds before they revert back to 16 seeds in 2019.

Nadal has been in electric form since triumphing at Flushing Meadows last year. He added a second consecutive French Open win to his resume in 2018, which he'll hope to mimic in New York, having been named top seed:

Stephens has had a more difficulty since her big win and failed to make it past the first round of two majors, but she did finish runner-up to Simona Halep in the French Open final.

That win saw Halep get a major monkey off her back, and she's been tipped as the top pick to triumph at the U.S. Open and double her Grand Slam tally:

Amazon Prime has exclusive rights to live-stream the tournament in the United Kingdom. Viewers in the United States can stream the action via WatchESPN and the Tennis Channel. 

Preview

The tennis world is still waiting on its next generation to come to the fore, and 32-year-old Nadal has taken more advantage than any of his older peers.

Andy Murray could return from a 14-month absence in New York, but the men's hierarchy has retained a familiar feel:

World No. 1 Nadal has looked somewhat unstoppable of late and was seen practicing with 2016 U.S. Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka on Tuesday:

The winds of change have been frequent at Flushing Meadows recently, with four different champions crowned in the past four tournaments for both the men's and women's competitions.

European stars have dominated the men's finals of late. Juan Martin Del Porto was the last non-European to win the crown, in 2009, and Nadal has won three of the last eight tournaments. Another two of those have been won by Novak Djokovic, however, and tennis writer Tumainin Carayol illustrated his pedigree:

The women's competition has been more routinely governed by Americans in recent times, although Stephens' victory last year did end a two-year streak of non-American wins after Serena Williams' three years of dominance.

Stephens and Halep could be primed for another head-to-head after the Romanian beat her in the final of the Rogers Cup in August.

Halep has given some hope to her peers, however, after withdrawing from the Connecticut Open due to an Achilles injury:

Angelique Kerber appears to be finding her groove once again at the top and could be a threat as she looks to reclaim the title she won in 2016, while Williams will be one to keep an eye on after being seeded 17th.