Will Novak Djokovic land in Carlos Alcaraz's half of the U.S. Open men's draw on Aug 27?
59% of users predicted YES — the community got this one right. 22 predictions cast.
The 2026 U.S. Open men's singles draw, released Aug. 27, placed Novak Djokovic in defending champion Carlos Alcaraz's half of the bracket, setting up a potential semifinal meeting rather than a final. The pairing shifted after Jannik Sinner withdrew from the tournament, which altered how the seeding rotation filled out each quarter under the standard draw procedure that separates the top seeds before working down the list.
Djokovic, a four-time U.S. Open champion, landed alongside Alcaraz's quarter, while top seed Alexander Zverev occupies the opposite half and would face the Djokovic-Alcaraz survivor in the final. Alcaraz enters as the two-time defending champion after winning the 2025 title, and the pair are close to even in their head-to-head series; Alcaraz won their lone 2026 meeting, at the Australian Open final.
The community forecast this correctly, with 59% predicting before the draw that Djokovic would land in Alcaraz's half, reflecting how the withdrawal of a top contender had already narrowed the field's likely bracket outcomes ahead of the official release.