NEW YORK (AP) — Maria Sharapova’s first Grand Slam match in more than 1½ years will come against No. 2-seeded Simona Halep at the U.S. Open.
Sharapova’s first-round matchup with two-time French Open runner-up Halep was set up by Friday’s draw.
The U.S. Tennis Association awarded a wild-card invitation to Sharapova, who is ranked only 147th after returning from a 15-month doping suspension in April. Her five major championships include the 2006 U.S. Open.
Sharapova was kicked off the tour after testing positive for the newly banned drug meldonium at the 2016 Australian Open.
NEW YORK (AP) — If Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal finally are going to face each other at the U.S. Open for the first time in their long rivalry, it only could happen in the semifinals.
Federer and Nadal were drawn Friday into a possible meeting in the final four at the year’s last Grand Slam tournament.
Nadal is seeded No. 1 at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2010 after returning to the ATP’s top ranking this week. Federer is seeded No. 3. Both wound up on the top half of the U.S. Open’s bracket. They have played 37 head-to-head matches, including 12 at major tournaments, but never at Flushing Meadows.
The bottom half’s semifinal could be No. 2 Andy Murray vs. No. 4 Alexander Zverev.
The tournament starts Monday.
___
More AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis
Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.