Emma Raducanu given tough US Open first round draw against Alizé Cornet

Emma Raducanu has been handed one of the toughest possible first round draws at the US Open this year as she begins her title defence against the veteran Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet. Serena Williams, meanwhile, has been handed a favourable draw in her likely final US Open as she faces Danka Kovinic of Montenegro in the first round.

As Raducanu returns to the site of her 2021 triumph, the gritty, theatric 32-year-old Cornet awaits. An 18-year veteran who reached a career high ranking of 11 in 2009, Cornet will be contesting a women’s record 63rd consecutive grand slam main draw, breaking her tie with Ai Sugiyama.

With her world ranking of 37, Cornet is not only one of the highest ranked unseeded players in the draw, but she is also in the middle of a late career resurgence, particularly at the grand slams where she has produced by far the best season of her career.

At the Australian Open, Cornet beat Simona Halep and Garbiñe Muguruza en route to her first career grand slam quarter-final in her 60th attempt. She followed it up by reaching the third round at the French Open, beating the world No 13 Jelena Ostapenko. At Wimbledon, she was the player to end Iga Swiatek’s 37-match winning streak, beating the world No 1 6-4, 6-2 to reach the fourth round.

Should Raducanu, the 11th seed, move past Cornet, she would face either Taylor Townsend or Katerina Siniakova in the second round. A potential first meeting with two-time champion Naomi Osaka could await in the third round, but unseeded Osaka faces her own complicated first-round battle against No 19 seed Danielle Collins, this year’s Australian Open runner up.

As she contests her final US Open, Williams cannot have any qualms about her own draw. Kovinic, her 80th ranked first