The final Grand Slam of the season is swiftly approaching and there will be plenty of storylines to follow.

Carlos Alcaraz’s return from injury, Aryna Sabalenka’s battle to regain form, Novak Djokovic’s bid for history and the women’s race to world No.1 are just some of the things to watch out for in New York. On Thursday, the draw for the men’s and women’s tournament was confirmed.

Here are seven first round matches to look out for.

Aryna Sabalenka – Camila Osorio

After failing to reach the quarter-finals at her last three tournaments, world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka is facing plenty of questions about her current form. To add to her problems, she is also on a three-match losing streak against top 20 players.

Sabalenka begins her title defence against Colombia’s Camila Osorio, who has been ranked as high as 33rd in the world. Osorio has struggled in recent weeks and hasn’t won back-to-back matches since reaching the third round of the French Open.

Sabalenka is expected to ease through this encounter but will undoubtedly be under more pressure than usual to perform. Besides her results, Elena Rybakina is closing in on her No. 1 ranking. Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula also have a shot at claiming the top spot, but they must win the title and hope their rivals’ results go in their favour.

Arthur Fery – Lorenzo Musetti

During a roller-coaster season that has been affected by injury, 13th seed Lorenzo Musetti faces a potentially tricky opener against British rising star Arthur Fery. Fery burst onto the scene at Wimbledon by reaching the semi-finals as a wildcard, scoring wins over Grigor Dimitrov and Flavio Cobolli. More recently, this week he has reached his first Tour-level semi-final at Winston-Salem, where he is seeded fourth.

Musetti has the advantage of being more experienced and established on the Tour, having reached the quarter-finals or better at all four major events at least once. In recent weeks, he lost his second match at the Canadian Masters to Rafael Jodar before fairing better at the Cincinnati Masters with a run to the quarter-finals.

On paper, the Italian will be a heavy favourite but could be troubled by Fery’s firepower. The underdog will also be drawing upon his Wimbledon performance as inspiration. Musetti is defending quarter-final points in New York and has only lost his opening match at the event once in five previous appearances.

Novak Djokovic – Mariano Novone

Novak Djokovic begins his quest for a historic 25th major title against world No.48 Mariano Navone, who won his first ATP title in April at the Romanian Open and reached the final of another in Geneva, Switzerland. Both of those events were on clay.

Starting a Grand Slam against a top 50 player poses its challenges, and Djokovic will have extra motivation to perform well following his early exit from the Cincinnati Open. Assuming the former world No.1 has improved on his form since then, he should get past the Argentine. Although Navone has beaten a top 40 player in three of his last five Tour-level matches played.

Also, the fact that the match will be on a hardcourt should benefit Djokovic more, given his opponent is much stronger on clay. Navone has won one main draw match at the US Open compared to Djokovic, who has won 95.

Matteo Berrettini – Stan Wawrinka

Stan Wawrinka went through an emotional roller-coaster before getting a place in the main draw. A week ago, he missed out on a wildcard with organisers giving the last two spots to home players. The Swiss then wrote a lengthy statement on Instagram reflecting on his New York experience under the impression he would not be playing again. Then, in a twist, he received a last-minute wildcard after a player withdrawal.

The 2016 champion starts the last Grand Slam of his career against Matteo Berrettini, who was a semi-finalist in 2019. It is the second time in a row the two have clashed in a Grand Slam first round. At Wimbledon, Berrettini prevailed in a tightly contested four-set battle.

Berrettini has won just one out of three matches played since Wimbledon at two Masters events. Wawrinka has recently been playing on the Challenger Tour, winning one match at two of those events.

Whoever wins could then play Djokovic in the second round.

Venus Williams – Sofia Kenin

Venus Williams’ return has sparked a debate about the wildcard system and who they should be awarded to. Whilst the American is a multiple major champion and former world No.1, she has lost her last 14 matches in singles.

The 46-year-old faces fellow wildcard Sofia Kenin, who was born a year after she played her first US Open final in 1997. Kenin is currently ranked 110th in the world with a win-loss record of 10-14 this season.

Kenin’s struggle with consistency this year has been her undoing, but she should still have the upper hand over Williams. For Williams, the biggest test is how effectively she can use her powerful ball striking and how long she can maintain it during the match.

Carlos Alcaraz – Roman Safiullin

Whilst he played in the mixed doubles event earlier this week, it is still unclear as to where Carlos Alcaraz’s level is currently at. Flushing Meadows will be the first singles event he has played since April after being sidelined from action due to a right wrist injury. The Spaniard is the defending champion and will be hoping to defy the odds to win it for a third time.

His opening match will be against Roman Safiullin, who struggles with his consistency on Tour but can be very problematic if he is on his game. Something he illustrated at Wimbledon by coming through qualifying, beating Joao Fonseca and taking a set off Djokovic before losing in the fourth round.

Seven-time major winner Alcaraz should experience a stern test, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for somebody returning following a long time away due to injury.

Daria Kasatkina – Paula Badosa

For the third year running, former top 10 players Daria Kasatkina and Paula Badosa will play against each other in the main draw of a major. This will be the first time they have done so at the US Open.

Badosa hasn’t played a Tour-level match so far this month after undergoing a minor medical procedure. As for Kasatkina, she has only won one main draw match during this period. There are undoubtedly question marks surrounding both players, which will make it interesting to see how they fare on court.

Kasatkina is the highest-ranked of the two at 59th in the world, but Badosa was a quarter-finalist in New York two years ago.