NEW YORK (AP) When the U.S. Open draw sets the first-round matchups, a top player could find himself with a daunting task.
Olympic silver medalist Juan Martin del Potro is unseeded at the year's final major, which starts Monday. Del Potro is ranked No. 142 because three left wrist surgeries forced him to miss so much time. The 2009 U.S. Open champ needed a wild card to get into the tournament.
So Friday's draw could put him in position to face a seeded player in the first or second round. That's what happened to top-ranked Novak Djokovic at the Olympics, when he lost to del Potro in his opening match. It's possible they could meet again early at Flushing Meadows.
Del Potro has defeated three of the U.S. Open's top four seeds since the start of Wimbledon.
