NEW YORK — Serena Williams must navigate a heavily American quarter of the draw including sister Venus to complete a calendar sweep of the four grand slams, while two sensational quarter-finals loom on the men's side after Thursday's U.S. Open draw.
Top-seeded Serena, who opens against Vitalia Diatchenko of Russia, is in a quarter that includes nine Americans, notably Sloane Stephens, Madison Keys and Venus, who she could meet in the quarter-finals.
Men's top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, the 2011 champion, begins against Brazilian Joao Souza and appears to have a smooth path to the quarters where he could find 14-times major winner Rafa Nadal of Spain, seeded eighth after a subpar season.