All-time legends, retiring heroes, up-and-coming stars and dangerous sleepers are all preparing for the 2026 US Open main draw beginning on Sunday. No one can win a Grand Slam without getting out of the first round to start, so that fact alone should keep a tennis fan glued to their seats. With that, here are some of the opening matches to keep an eye on. Probably both eyes.
(2) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Roman Safiullin
Any match involving Alcaraz, the two-time US Open champion and seven-time Grand Slam winner, is appointment viewing no matter what stage of a tournament, whether it’s playing against rival Jannik Sinner or hitting a ball against the wall of a New York City handball court. And since you’ve probably come across a few stories about Alcaraz’s return to NYC as defending champion—and his return to the tour after missing almost five months due to a wrist injury—we’ll focus more now on his first-round opponent.
And a very tricky opponent at that.
Like Alcaraz, Safiullin also missed an extended period of time in 2026 due to injury. Yet the former world No. 36 usually saves his best performances for the big stages, the latest example of that coming at Wimbledon last month where he reached the Round of 16, defeating Andrey Rublev, Botic van de Zandschulp and Joao Fonseca before being stopped by Novak Djokovic in four sets on Centre Court.
Safiullin also possesses something that not many have on the ATP Tour at the moment: a win against Alcaraz. The head-to-head matchup between the two is one apiece, with Safiullin taking out the Spaniard in 2023 at the Masters 1000 Paris in straight sets. Along with that win, Safiullin owns three career Top-10 wins while possessing victories at the Masters 1000 level against Alexander Zverev, Alexander Bublik and Frances Tiafoe. Not having played a competitive match since April, Alcaraz being drawn with the uncompromising baseline bruiser in Safiullin is certainly a case of jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Matteo Berrettini vs. Stan Wawrinka (WC)
Wawrinka, the 2016 US Open champion and fan favorite, will play in Flushing Meadows one last time after receiving a wild card as his retirement looms at the end of the season, and his first round opponent is the man who sent him into the Wimbledon sunset last month, Berrettini. The Italian, a 2019 US Open semifinalist, 2021 Wimbledon finalist and fellow fan favorite, took out the Swiss in an epic match during the first round at SW19 in a contest where all four sets went to tiebreaks: Berrettini won the last three, pulling out an 18-16 breaker in the second set to avoid going down two sets.
We would love a match that comes anywhere close to the one in London, and the three-time Grand Slam champion Wawrinka has more than equipped himself well in matches this season even at age 41. He’ll get a hero’s sendoff no matter the result, but a win is certainly not out of the question.
FYI, the winner of Berrettini/Wawrinka will likely face Djokovic in the second round, with the Serb having already faced both players in a Grand Slam final. Djokovic defeated Berrettini in that 2021 Wimbledon final while losing to Stan the Man at the 2016 US Open and 2015 Roland Garros title matches.
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo vs. Gael Monfils (WC)
Speaking of sendoffs, Monfils will bid farewell when his run in Queens ends, as he’s also calling it quits at the end of the season. He already has gotten a little bit of the star treatment in New York earlier, partnering with Elina Svitolina and winning two matches during the US Open mixed doubles event before the start of this year’s main draw. Of course, matches featuring the Frenchman wouldn’t be complete without the overhead smashes and slides across the court to run down shots, which did come out during the mixed doubles and once again reinforced his status as one of the game’s all-time showmen.
Of course, that isn’t to say he wasn’t one of the best players on tour during his peak. It was 10 years ago when Monfils, who reached a career high of No. 6, made the US Open semifinals and took a set off Djokovic during that final four matchup.
Keeping his Grand Slam career alive will not be easy against Vallejo, who is having a career year on the tour and is currently ranked at No. 61. The 22-year-old is just the fourth Paraguayan to reach the world’s Top 100, and after qualifying for the Masters 1000 event in Madrid, he proceeded to defeat Grigor Dimitrov and Learner Tien in the Spanish capital.
More information with US OPEN
