Serena Williams to face Maria Sharapova in US Open first round

Serena Williams has been paired with Maria Sharapova in an eye-catching US Open first round encounter.

Williams and Sharapova have met in the finals of the other three majors and the 2012 Olympics but have yet to face each other in the US Open.

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The 23-time grand slam title winner boasts a 19-2 record in their WTA Tour clashes, but that lopsided number will do little to dampen the excitement around what will be the marquee match of the opening round at Flushing Meadows, which begins Monday.

The British No 1 Johanna Konta will play Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the first round.

The top seed and defending champion Naomi Osaka meets Russian Anna Blinkova, while the Wimbledon sensation Cori Gauff takes on Anastasia Potapova. Gauff, 15, reached the fourth round at SW19 and received a wild card to play at Flushing Meadows. Potapova, from Russia, was the Wimbledon junior champion in 2016.

The British men’s No 1 Kyle Edmund, the 30th seed, will meet the Spanish veteran Pablo Andujar in the first round.

Dan Evans’ opening match is against France’s Adrian Mannarino, while Cameron Norrie has drawn a qualifier ahead of what could be a second-round meeting with 15th seed David Goffin.

Novak Djokovic, the No 1 seed, begins the defense of his title against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena. Djokovic is in the same half of the draw as Roger Federer, who starts out against a qualifier. Second seed Rafael Nadal meets Australian John Millman in the first round.