The US Open, known before 1968 as the US National Championships, is the second-oldest of the four Grand Slams after Wimbledon, and the only one to have been played each year since its inception in 1881. This is the 137th staging of the event, as well as the 50th US Open and 199th Grand Slam tournament of the Open Era. The US Open has been held on the hard courts of Flushing since moving from Forest Hills in 1978. It was played on grass through 1974 and on clay from 1975 to 1977.

NO. 1 ON THE LINE IN EMIRATES ATP RANKINGS: New World No. 1 Rafael Nadal puts his ranking on the line at the US Open and No. 3 Roger Federer can return to the top of men’s tennis. Both can clinch No. 1 on 11 September by winning the US Open title.

Federer must reach the quarter-finals for a chance at replacing Nadal atop the Emirates ATP Rankings. Federer, 36, debuted at No. 1 on 2 February 2004 and has not been No. 1 since 4 November 2012.

He is hoping to break a pair of Andre Agassi’s records. The five-time US Open champion would be the oldest World No. 1 since rankings were established in 1973. The four years and 310 days between 4 November 2012 and 11 September 2017 would be the longest gap between stints at No. 1. Please see below for all scenarios.

Nadal No. 1 Scenarios
* Champion

* Finalist

* Semi-finalist + Federer does not reach final

* Quarter-finalist, 4th Round or 3rd Round + Federer does not reach SF

* 2nd Round + Federer does not reach SF

* 1st Round or Does Not Play + Federer does not reach QF

Federer No. 1 Scenarios
* Champion

* Finalist

* Semi-finalist + Nadal does not reach SF

* Quarter-finalist + Nadal does not reach 2R

ROGER’S RECORDS: Roger Federer is the all-time leader with 19 Grand Slam men’s singles titles and 302 weeks at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The Swiss can extend those records and set several new ones in New York City.

Federer seeks his sixth US Open title, which would break a three-way tie for most in the Open Era.

Federer seeks his eighth US Open final, which would create a three-way tie for most in the Open Era.

Federer seeks his sixth US Open title 13 years after winning his first, which would set an Open Era record for greatest number of years between first and most recent US Open titles.

Federer seeks a sixth US Open title nine years after winning his fifth, which would set an Open Era record for greatest number of years between US Open titles.

Federer, 36, bids to become the oldest US Open champion in the Open Era (and oldest US Open finalist since 1974).

ONLY THREE HAVE CRACKED BIG FOUR: The ‘Big Four’ of Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic has won 45 of the last 50 Grand Slam titles. Only former US Open champions Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka have broken the Big Four’s dominance during that stretch, with Wawrinka winning three Grand Slams. Since 2005 Roland Garros, Nadal and Federer have both captured 15 Grand Slam titles (Djokovic-12, Murray-3).

THREE-QUARTER SLAM: Roger Federer enters the US Open for the fourth time as the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion (also in 2004, 2006 and 2007). Federer went on to win the US Open title in all three of those years.

FEELS LIKE HOME TO HIM: Arthur Ashe Stadium turns 20 at the 2017 US Open, and no man has won or played more matches inside the biggest tennis arena in the world than Federer (66-8). Federer also owns the most evening-session wins among men since 1980 (31-1) and could pass Andre Agassi (28-5) for the most evening-session matches.

2006 ALL OVER AGAIN: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have combined to win the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles for the fifth time (also in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010). Federer or Nadal went on to win the US Open title in all but one of those years. Juan Martin del Potro defeated Nadal and Federer en route to the 2009 US Open title.

NEVER IN OPEN ERA: Roger Federer did it at the Australian Open in 2007 and Wimbledon in 2017. Rafael Nadal did it at Roland Garros in 2008, 2010 and 2017. But no man in the Open Era has ever won the US Open title without dropping a set. Neale Fraser is the last player overall to do so, sweeping 21 sets for the 1960 US National Championships title.

GRAPPLE IN THE APPLE: Legendary boxing promoter Don King billed it the ‘Grapple in the Apple’ in 2008, but Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have still never played at the US Open. On five occasions, they were only one match away.

HARD-COURT DROUGHT: Rafael Nadal will reach 144 weeks overall as World No. 1 during the US Open. He can ensure that he remains No. 1 by winning the title, but the Spaniard has not bitten a hard-court championship trophy in nearly four years. Nadal has played 34 hard-court events and eight hard-court finals since his last title on the surface at 2014 Doha.

PAST CHAMP RETURNING: 2014 champion Marin Cilic will attempt to become the first player in the Open Era to win the US Open title without playing any matches between Wimbledon and the US Open.

SASCHA SEEKS BREAKTHROUGH: Alexander Zverev has yet to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final. But after winning back-to-back titles earlier this month at the Citi Open in Washington, D.C., and the Coupe Rogers, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Montreal, Zverev has emerged as the No. 4 seed at the US Open. Should the 20-year-old capture his third title of the summer and sixth of the season in New York, he would become the second-youngest US Open champion in the Open Era behind only a 19-year-old Pete Sampras in 1990.

DIMITROV DELIVERING: Grigor Dimitrov held in 52 of 53 service games en route to the biggest title of his career at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. Dimitrov, the No. 7 seed, has never reached the US Open quarter-finals.

The Cincinnati champion has won the US Open title once in the past nine years (Rafael Nadal in 2013). Dimitrov, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev and Juan Martin del Potro are among those who could make it six straight years with a different US Open champion.

UNSEEDED STATS: There has not been an unseeded US Open semi-finalist since Mikhail Youzhny in 2006, finalist since Mark Philippoussis in 1998 and champion since Andre Agassi in 1994. The US Open went from 16 to 32 seeds in 2001.

THEY’RE UNSEEDED TOO: Gilles Muller (2008) and Nicolas Escude (1999) both reached the US Open quarter-finals for the best finish by a qualifier in the Open Era. Jimmy Connors did one better by reaching the 1991 semi-finals for the best finish by a wild card.

Lucky losers haven’t been as successful, with Flavio Cipolla (2008), Fernando Verdasco (2003) and Laurence Tieleman (1999) tied for the best finish by a player who lost in qualifying. They each reached the third round.

All-Time Grand Slam Men’s Singles Title Leaders

All-Time Grand Slam Win Leaders 

All-Time US Open Win Leaders

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

SPANISH SPOILERS: Left-handed Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco are quickly approaching Roger Federer’s Open Era-record of 65 consecutive Grand Slam main draw appearances. Lopez, Federer’s former junior rival, could tie the Swiss at Roland Garros and pass him at Wimbledon. The 31st-seeded Lopez is making his 16th straight appearance at the US Open. The streaks of Novak Djokovic (51) and Stan Wawrinka (50) will end at the US Open.

HARD-COURT WIN LEADERS: Grigor Dimitrov earned his ATP-best 24th hard-court win of 2017 in the Cincinnati final.

NOTE: Roberto Bautista Agut is 21-6 with one title entering the Winston-Salem Open final.

US Open Finish of Hard-Court Win Leaders Entering US Open (since 2000)

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

Career Hard-Court Title Leaders (Open Era)

Active Players Hard-Court Title Leaders

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

GRAND SLAM TITLE BREAKTHROUGH: In the Open Era, 13 players have earned their first Grand Slam title by winning the US Open. This tournament has the second-highest number of first-time Grand Slam champions behind Roland Garros.

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

TITLE DEFENCES: With Stan Wawrinka out for the season, Roger Federer remains the last man to successfully defend the US Open title, having won five straight titles from 2004 through 2008. Wawrinka is the fourth defending champion to miss the US Open since 2003, joining Pete Sampras in 2003, Juan Martin del Potro in 2010 and Rafael Nadal in 2014.

Successful Grand Slam Title Defenses (Open Era)

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

TOP SEED FINISHES: The top seed has won the title 15 times in the 49 US Opens held during the Open Era. The US Open top seed has lost twice in the first round: John Newcombe in 1971 and Stefan Edberg in 1990.

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

*In 1973, there were two No. 1 seeds

LEFT-HANDED CHAMPIONS: Six left-handers have combined to win 14 US Open singles titles in the Open Era.

Jimmy Connors (5): 1974, 1976, 1978, 1982-83

John McEnroe (4): 1979-81, 1984

Rafael Nadal (2): 2010, 2013

Guillermo Vilas (1): 1977

Manuel Orantes (1): 1975

Rod Laver (1): 1969

COUNTRY BREAKDOWN: There are 43 countries represented in the men’s singles draw at the US Open (40 in 2016).

FIRST-TIMERS: There are 23 players making their US Open debut this year (up from 16 in 2016): JC Aragone, Geoffrey Blancaneaux, Marius Copil, Alex de Minaur, Christopher Eubanks, Norbert Gombos, Nicolas Kicker, Darian King, Evan King, Thai-Son Kwiatkowski, Patrick Kypson, Henri Laaksonen, Maximilian Marterer, Daniil Medvedev, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, Vincent Millot, Thiago Monteiro, Cameron Norrie, Vaclav Safranek, Tennys Sandgren, Denis Shapovalov, Yuichi Sugita and Stefano Travaglia. In the Open Era, no man has ever won the US Open title in his tournament debut. The last player to win a title in his debut at a Grand Slam event was Rafael Nadal at 2005 Roland Garros.

FROM BOYS TO MEN: Ten former US Open junior champions and six runners-up are in the men’s singles draw. Stefan Edberg, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray are the only players to have won both the boys’ and men’s singles titles.

US OPEN CHAMPIONS LIST: Of the 54 Grand Slam champions in the Open Era, 27 have won the US Open title.

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

US Open Singles Finals (Open Era)

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

US Open Doubles Finals (Open Era)

Players competing at 2017 US Open in bold

+Not playing together at 2017 US Open

Second seed Andy Murray has withdrawn from the US Open because of a lingering hip injury. The 2012 titlist has not played since losing to Sam Querrey in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last month.

Murray said on Saturday that he’s been battling the injury since falling to Stan Wawrinka in the Roland Garros semi-finals in June.

“[I] did pretty much everything that I could to get myself ready here and took a number of weeks off after Wimbledon. I obviously spoke to a lot of hip specialists. [I] tried obviously resting, rehabbing, to try and get myself ready here,” Murray said. “[I] was actually practising okay the last few days, but it’s too sore for me to win the tournament and ultimately that’s what I was here to try and do. Unfortunately, I won’t be playing here this year.”

Murray fell to No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings last week when Spaniard Rafael Nadal returned to the top spot. The Scot had been in the bottom half of the US Open draw, which is now led by fourth seed Alexander Zverev, fifth seed Marin Cilic and eighth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Lukas Lacko of Slovakia will now enter the main draw.

Grigor Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev, ATP World Tour Masters 1000 champions respectively in Cincinnati and Montreal, finished on top in the Summer Masters Golden Hot Shot poll.

Dimitrov’s dive volley against Yuichi Sugita in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open was selected by fans as the clear winner of the poll, finishing with 52 per cent of votes cast over a five-day period. Meanwhile, Zverev’s match point save in a 49-shot rally against Richard Gasquet in the Coupe Rogers second round received 18 per cent of votes.  

View Complete Results For Golden Hot Shot 

Re-live nine great hot shots from the season’s ATP World Tour Masters 1000 summer tournaments:

Subscribe to our Hot Shot playlist, and watch match replays on TennisTV.

Denis Shapovalov headlined a group of 16 players to qualify at the US Open on Friday, continuing his dominant run of form with a 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-3 victory over Jan Satral.

Shapovalov will make his US Open debut on the heels of an ATP Challenger Tour title in Gatineau and semi-final run at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal, where he became the youngest player to reach the last four of an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. The 18-year-old Canadian has now won 15 of his last 17 matches in total and will look to extend the run against fellow #NextGenATP Daniil Medvedev in the first round.

“I got fired up after I lost the first set,” Shapovalov told ATPWorldTour.com. “It really motivated me and it helped me with my confidence. I raised my level from there and was playing some good tennis in the second and third sets.

“It feels incredible. I dream to play in these big tournaments, so to be able to qualify for one of the Grand Slams is a really big privilege for me.”

A trio of Americans earned main draw berths on Friday. Veteran Tim Smyczek will make his fifth main draw appearance in six years at Flushing Meadows, defeating Peter Polansky 6-3, 6-4. Chicago native Evan King qualified for his first Grand Slam main draw at the age of 25, stunning Michael Mmoh 6-3, 6-3. King had earned his first ATP World Tour match win in Los Cabos earlier this month. University of Virginia standout JC Aragone turned in the Cinderella performance of the qualifying competition, claiming three three-set victories in his tour-level debut. He defeated Akira Santillan 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on Friday.

All three Americans will be made to work in the first round of main draw play, with Smyczek opening against 17th seed Sam Querrey, King facing 12th seed Pablo Carreno Busta and Aragone battling 28th seed Kevin Anderson.

In other action, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe will make his first appearance in a Grand Slam since the 2013 Australian Open, continuing his impressive comeback to the tour. He ousted Alejandro Gonzalez 6-2, 6-4 in 74 minutes. The World No. 106 is on the brink of returning to the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the first time in five years. He opens against Nicolas Kicker of Argentina.

Stebe is coming off an ATP Challenger Tour crown in Vancouver on Sunday and is joined by another recent titlist, Binghamton champ Cameron Norrie, in qualifying for the last Grand Slam of the year. Norrie did not drop a set all week in booking his US Open debut, sealing it with a 6-1, 7-6(5) win over Go Soeda. Dmitry Tursunov awaits in the first round.

Nicolas Mahut will appear in his seventh consecutive US Open main draw and 12th overall, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(6), 3-6, 6-0. The 2015 doubles champion, with Pierre-Hugues Herbert, will battle Marton Fucsovics in the first round.

Other qualifiers include Maximilian Marterer, Radu Albot, Vaclav Safranek, Mikhail Kukushkin, Stefano Travaglia, Adrian Menendez-Maceiras, Vincent Millot, John-Patrick Smith and Darian King. King will be the first player from Barbados to compete in a Grand Slam. Fourth seed Alexander Zverev is his first round opponent.

Despite falling to Marterer, top seed Leonardo Mayer earned a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser. He opens against 26th seed Richard Gasquet.

Top seed Roberto Bautista Agut reached his second consecutive Winston-Salem Open final on Friday, beating German Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals.

Bautista Agut broke four times and especially took advantage of Struff’s second serve, winning 72 per cent (26/36) of those points. The German was playing in his first semi-final since 2014 Metz.

“I’m so happy to be in the final again. Today I played a very good match. It’s been a great week for me,” Bautista Agut said.

The Spaniard fell in last year’s title match to countryman Pablo Carreno Busta. He will go for his second title of the season (Chennai, d. Medvedev) and the sixth of his career against first-time finalist Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzogovina, who came back to beat Brit Kyle Edmund 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes.

Dzumhur is the first player from Bosnia-Herzogovina to reach an ATP World Tour final. Last week, he reached the final at the clay-court ATP Challenger Tour event in Santo Domingo (l. to Estrella Burgos). Saturday’s final will mark his 11^th match in the past 12 days.

“It’s going to be a big thing for me, for my coutnry, as the only player in the Top 100 making great results. I think everybody in Bosnia is still awake and watching me, which makes me really proud for my country,” Dzumhur said.

“For such a small country as Bosnia, it’s a really big result, and for all the country, what we went through the past 20 years. So I’m proud of my country and proud of myself and it’s going to be a good day tomorrow.”