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Canadian players avoid seeded opponents in first round of the US Open

Aug 27, 2020 | 11:26 AM

NEW YORK — Three of five Canadians are seeded and the two others won’t face seeded players in the opening round of the U.S. Open next week.

The draw was unveiled Thursday. The tournament is scheduled to start Monday.

Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., is the top-seeded Canadian at No. 12. He’ll face American wild-card entrant Sebastian Korda in the first round.

Korda, ranked 225th, is the son of former world No. 2 Petr Korda.

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 15 seed, will meet world No. 82 Thiago Monteiro of Brazil.

Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., the No. 25 seed, will square off with world No. 118 Leonardo Mayer of Argentina.

Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil, ranked 92nd, faces world No. 74 Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany.

If Raonic and Pospisil both win, they will clash in the second round.

Leylah Annie Fernandez of Laval, Que., is the lone Canadian in the women’s draw. The 17-year-old, ranked 111th, will meet world No. 270 Vera Zvonareva of Russia.

Reigning U.S. Open women’s champion Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., has dropped out. She hasn’t played a competitive match since last October.

No fans will be in attendance at this year’s U.S. Open because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It is the second Grand Slam of the year after the cancellation of Wimbledon.

The field is missing many top players, including Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Ash Barty.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2020.

The Canadian Press