US Open draw released: Will Djokovic exit in the first round? Wu Yibing likely to enter main draw, Wang Xinyu scores two wins in one day

Three minutes daily to catch up on global tennis news. Hello tennis fans, today is Friday, August 22, 2025. Welcome to the midday news update brought to you by Tennis Home.

First, let’s look at the US Open. Last night Beijing time, the 2025 US Open singles main draw was released. In men’s singles: the top two seeds, Sinner and Alcaraz, anchor the top and bottom halves respectively. The top eight seeds’ matchups are: top half, Sinner vs Draper, Zverev vs Demin; bottom half, Djokovic vs Fritz, Shelton vs Alcaraz.

Regarding Chinese players: number one Bu Yunchaokete faces wildcard player Royer, and young talent Shang Juncheng will play against Italian player Berrettini.

After the draw was released, some fans noticed that Serbian star Djokovic, placed in the third quarter of the bottom half, will face American rising star Learner Chen in the first round. On his path to advance, he may meet Americans Mickelson, Danish star Rune, and top American Fritz.

Regarding Djokovic’s draw, some fans believe it is favorable and expect him to reach the semifinals without trouble. However, others think he might lose in the first round. Their reasoning: 20-year-old American Learner Chen has made significant progress over the past two years, having defeated world number three German Zverev and Russian duo Medvedev and Rublev, and reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open. His solid skills place him among the top contenders. Additionally, Djokovic is arriving fresh at the US Open without warm-up tournaments and has had limited training intensity. Compared to this, the chance of Learner Chen causing an upset is quite high. What do you think?

In women’s singles: the top eight seeds’ matchups are: top half, Sabalenka vs Borrani, Pegula vs Mira Andreeva; bottom half, Keys vs Gauff, Anisimova vs Swiatek. Chinese players’ first-round opponents are: Yuan Yue vs Samsonova, Wang Yafan vs Navarro, Zhu Lin vs Potapova, Wang Xinyu vs Dollheide.

Additionally, in the second round of US Open qualifiers, Chinese players achieved five wins and one loss, securing at least one main draw spot early. In men’s singles: Wu Yibing defeated French player Van Assche 6-3, 6-3, and will face Swiss player Kämpf in the final qualifying round, with a main draw spot within reach.

Hong Kong player Wong Chak Lam came back from behind to beat 16th seed Gigante 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, and will face Billy Harris in the final qualifying round; Sun Fajing lost 2-6, 2-6 to L. Harris and failed to advance. In women’s singles: Wang Xiyu defeated Martic 7-5, 6-4, and will play Charayeva in the final qualifying round; Wei Sijia came back from a set down to beat Romero-Gomez 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, advancing to face compatriot Zhang Shuai for a main draw spot. Zhang had earlier beaten Wiedemannova 6-4, 6-0.

Let’s turn to other tournaments: This morning Beijing time, in the ATP 250 Winston-Salem quarterfinals, China’s number one Bu Yunchaokete was trailing Dutch player Van der Schueren 3-6, 3-4 when the match was suspended due to rain.

WTA 250 Cleveland: In singles, second seed and Chinese star Wang Xinyu played two matches in one day. First, she came from behind to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 against Australian Gibson in a makeup match, then upset 33-year-old Swiss veteran Golubic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals to reach the semifinals. She will next face American Ann Li for a place in the final.

Romanian qualifier Costea defeated top seed Samsonova 6-4, 6-1 to reach the semifinals. She will compete against Russian Zakharova for a spot in the final.

In women’s doubles: In the first semifinal, second seeds and Chinese Strait duo Jiang Xinyu/Zhan Haoqing overcame Chinese pair Xu Yifan/Yang Zhaoxuan 4-6, 7-6(2), 10-3, advancing to the final.

WTA 500 Monterrey: In singles quarterfinals, third seed and Russian rising star Schneider rallied from 1-5 down in the final set, saving five match points, battling for three hours to narrowly beat fifth seed and Belgian veteran Mertens 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), reaching her first tour-level semifinal this year. Next, she will face American Coco Gauff, who defeated Slovak Slamkova 6-2, 7-5 to reach her first WTA 500 semifinal.

In women’s doubles quarterfinals, Chinese-Russian pair Guo Hanyu/Panova defeated Kempen/Syskova 7-6(6), 6-3 to advance to the semifinals.

Lastly, let’s do a guess and recognition. The picture below shows a player during a match. Without any hints, can you identify who she is?

In the previous guess, some fans gave the correct answer. Yes, the person in the picture is women’s singles world number one Sabalenka.

(Source: Tennis Home Author: Independent Thinker)