NEW YORK, Aug 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - The US Open starts on Monday at Flushing
Meadows, with defending champions Novak Djokovic and Coco Gauff in action,
along with former champions Dominic Thiem and Sloane Stephens.

Serbia's Djokovic is trying to become the first man to successfully defend
his US Open crown since Roger Federer won five straight from 2004-2008.

It's the last chance for the 37-year-old, who won Olympic singles gold in
Paris, to avoid a Grand Slam shut-out this season, after Jannik Sinner won
the Australian Open and Carlos Alcaraz bagged both the French Open and
Wimbledon titles.

Gauff is aiming to turn things around after struggling to maintain the form
that saw her capture a maiden major at Flushing Meadows last year.

AFP Sport looks at three matches to watch on Monday:

Radu Albot (MDA) v Novak Djokovic (SRB x2)

-- Serbian superstar Djokovic, fresh off a longed-for Olympic gold medal in
Paris, appears poised to ease his way into his US Open title defense with a
first-round meeting against qualifier Albot.

The Moldovan, ranked 138th in the world, is 0-11 against top-10 players.

But Djokovic will have some adjusting to do as he closes out the first night
session on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The cherished Olympic gold on the clay courts
of Roland Garros marked a high point of an otherwise disappointing year for
the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who surrendered his Australian Open and
French Open titles as well as his top world ranking.

The match will be his first on hard courts since a shot defeat to Luca Nardi
in the third round at Indian Wells in March.

Varvara Gracheva (FRA) v Coco Gauff (USA x3)

-- World number three Gauff, whose fortunes have been mixed since she won her
maiden Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows last year, will be hoping history
repeats itself when she takes on Russian-born French player Varvara Gracheva
in the afternoon on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Their only prior meeting came in the quarter-finals at Auckland in January,
Gauff posting a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1 victory and going on to claim the
title -- so far her only one of 2024.

Gauff has lost three of her past six matches, her second-round exit in her
Cincinnati title defense dropping her to third in the world.

The 20-year-old American tried to put a positive spin on that, calling her
Cincinnati defeat "a blessing in disguise ... because I was able to actually
train, which I hadn't been able to.

"I do my best results when I come off a training block," Gauff said. "I'm
having great practices, which doesn't mean I'm going to go out in the match
and play great, but it does give you more confidence when you're actually
practicing great the week before a tournament."

Zheng Qinwen (CHN x7) v Amanda Anisimova (USA)

-- Newly minted Olympic gold medallist Zheng will likely find herself in
hostile territory on Louis Armstrong Stadium when she takes on US wild card
Amanda Anisimova in the first career meeting between the two.

Having given China a first Olympic tennis gold, Zheng will try again to
emulate pioneering compatriot Li Na in claiming a Grand Slam crown -- having
come up short in the Australian Open final in January.

Anisimova has been on the comeback trail in 2024 after taking a mental health
break in 2023. She moved back into the top 50 in the world rankings after
reaching her first WTA 1000 final in Toronto two weeks ago.