The draws for the US Open 2011 announced (Mian Shakeel Aslam)

Mian Shakeel Aslam: Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer could meet in the semifinals for the fourth year in a row, while Victoria Azarenka was perhaps the unluckiest player in the field as she could face 13-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the third round, as the men’s and women’s draws for the 2011 US Open were revealed live Thursday in a special one-hour edition of SportsCenter on ESPN.

On Thursday, the 32 seeded players in both the men’s and women’s fields were placed on the drawsheets with the assistance of defending US Open champion Rafael Nadal. The remaining 96 players in each field were randomly assigned to the draw the night before.

The singles main draw begins Monday, August 29, at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic enters Flushing Meadows as the favorite in the men’s field after one of the greatest seasons in the Open Era, including defeating Nadal to win his first Wimbledon crown and also winning the Australian Open on his way to a 57-2 record this year.

His path to the semifinals looks fairly smooth, with a potential quarterfinal opponent in No. 7 Gael Monfils. In the semifinals last year, Djokovic scored his first US Open triumph over Federer, as he came back from two sets down to defeat the five-time champion in five in one of the most exciting matches of the tournament. He advanced to the final, where he fell to Nadal, who completed the career Grand Slam with his first US Open title.

To meet Djokovic yet again in the semifinals, No. 3 Federer will have to get past perhaps either the top-ranked American Mardy Fish at No. 8 or No. 11 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals. Fish has been playing some of the best tennis of his career this year and recently scored his first-ever win over Nadal in Cincinnati.

On the other side of the men’s draw, Nadal will likely have to get past No. 4 Andy Murray in the semifinals. Nadal has won all three of their meetings this year and holds a 12-4 career advantage. Some concern around Nadal as of late has been blisters on his right hand that were caused by a burn from a hot plate in Cincinnati, although at the draw Thursday, he said his fingers were doing much better.

“It looks a little bit better,” he said of his hand. “I feel great. I am here, and I will try my best. Last year was a really emotional year for me. It was the tournament I didn’t play my best in the past. (But) last year, I played one of my best matches in the final. I finally won.”

Before he potentially gets to Murray, Nadal has 2003 US Open champion Andy Roddick in his section of the draw, whom he could face in the quarterfinals or his compatriot and No. 5 seed David Ferrer.

Murray is coming off a title win in Cincinnati and has an interesting section of the draw in which No. 28 seed John Isner plays former top-10 player Marcos Baghdatis in the first round. The winner could face No. 6 Robin Soderling, who has not played since early July due to injury. Also in that section of the draw is 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, who is still looking to regain his championship form after his wrist injury.

Del Potro has not advanced past the quarterfinals at an event this summer but could lurk as a quarterfinal opponent for Murray.

Looking at the men’s draw, though, as a whole, ESPN analyst and seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe still sees the Big Four as the ones to beat, considering for someone else to win, he would likely have to beat at least two, if not three of them.

“Del Potro, you want to see where he is. Soderling is hurt; he is unpredictable,” McEnroe said on ESPN. “One of the top four guys to me is going to win this thing. It is almost impossible (for others) to go all the way (having to beat likely two, if not three of the top four).”

On the women’s side, the looming Serena-Azarenka third-round match-up is one of the most intriguing. With Serena having played just four tournaments since returning from her foot injury and then serious health problems, including a pulmonary embolism and a hematoma earlier this year, she is seeded at No. 28.

Azarenka, at No. 4, was the unlucky top-10 seed to be in Serena’s section. Serena just scored a straight-sets win over Azarenka in Toronto on her way to winning the title and, even with her inactivity, is still considered the favorite in the women’s draw, along with 2006 US Open champion Maria Sharapova, who she cannot meet until the final.

And that is the final matchup that McEnroe is predicting.

“Poor, poor, poor Victoria Azarenka,” he said. “She has an immediate stomach ache (with Serena). This is a pretty good set-up for Serena. She and Sharapova are the two favorites to win this.”

If she gets past Azarenka, a talented young player in search of her first major title, Serena’s quarterfinal opponent could be No. 7 Francesca Schiavone or No. 11 Jelena Jankovic. In the semifinals, Serena could meet No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who is still looking for her first Grand Slam title but who has not had a great summer, including opening-round losses at Toronto and Cincinnati.

Wozniacki could meet 2004 US Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round and perhaps 2011 French Open champion Li Na or Jo. 10 Andrea Petkovic in the quarterfinals. The US Open has been Wozniacki’s most successful Grand Slam, as she reached the semifinals last year and the final the year before.

In the other half of the draw, Sharapova could meet 2011 Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in a rematch of the final, which Kvitova won over the favored Russian in straight sets for her first Grand Slam tournament title.

In the other quarter, No. 2 seed and 2010 US Open finalist Vera Zvonareva could face two-time US Open champion Venus Williams in the fourth round, as Venus is unseeded in the tournament due to hip and abdominal injuries earlier in the year and a virus that has allowed her to play just three tournaments in 2011.

Venus, however, could meet the power-serving German and No. 22 Sabine Lisicki in the second round before potentially meeting Zvonareva or No. 8 seed Marion Bartoli in the quarters.

ESPN analyst Mary Joe Fernandez, also the U.S. Fed Cup Captain, sees Sharapova likely reaching the final and does not know what to expect from Venus or perhaps even Wozniacki.

“I think Sharapova is the one to beat (in this section),” she said. “We don’t know what we are going to get with Venus. It is a tough third-round match for Azarenka. Wozniacki is trying to win some matches in New Haven this week, but she has had a rough summer.”

Posted By: Mian Shakeel Aslam

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