Djokovic, Federer In Same Half Of US Open Draw; Nadal Faces Golubev

© Getty ImagesNovak Djokovic has finished runner-up at the US Open in 2007 and 2010.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will begin his quest for a third Grand Slam championship title of the year against a qualifier, Conor Niland, in the US Open first round. Djokovic, who has been drawn in the same half of the draw as five-time former titlist Roger Federer, has compiled a 57-2 match record on the season that includes nine titles.

The Serb could face his first test in the third round against either former Barclays ATP World Tour Finals champion Nikolay Davydenko, No. 22 seed Alexandr Dolgopolov or No. 32 seed Ivan Dodig, who upset Rafael Nadal earlier this month in Montreal. Should he reach the quarter-finals, Djokovic is seeded to meet either No. 7 seed Gael Monfils or No. 9 seed Tomas Berdych.

Defending champion Rafael Nadal, who challenges Kazakhstani Andrey Golubev in his opener, will be looking to reach his third straight major championship final. He beat Djokovic in last year's title match at Flushing Meadows to complete a career Grand Slam. The Spaniard could face David Nalbandian in the third round and, in the round of 16, either No. 10 seed Nicolas Almagro or 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick, seeded No. 21.

Federer, the 2004-2008 winner and 16-time major champion, meets Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the first round. The Swiss may face No. 27 seed Marin Cilic or Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic in the third round. If Federer reaches his 30th straight Grand Slam quarter-final, he could meet No. 11 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat the former World No. 1 in Montreal and Wimbledon this year. No. 8 seed Mardy Fish, who opens against German Tobias Kamke, is another potential quarter-final opponent for Federer.

Fourth seed Andy Murray, the 2008 runner-up and newly crowned Cincinnati champion, faces Somdev Devvarman of India in the first round. In the same quarter of the draw, sixth seed Robin Soderling could meet No. 18 seed and 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro in the fourth round. Del Potro, who missed the tournament last year through injury, could face No. 12 seed Gilles Simon in the third round.

Interesting first-round matches include John Isner and Marcos Baghdatis (who play each other today at Winston-Salem), Mikhail Youzhny and Ernests Gulbis, Ivo Karlovic and Fernando Gonzalez, Monfils and Grigor Dimitrov and the battle between tough veterans Radek Stepanek and Philipp Kohlschreiber.