US Open – Emma Raducanu gets set for Flushing Meadonw title defence while Kyle Edmund returns to grand slam singles

The 19-year-old returns as the 11th seed 12 months after her incredible triumph but will be wary of Cornet, who ended Iga Swiatek’s 37-match unbeaten run at Wimbledon and has had a number of other big grand slam wins.

Serena Williams begins what seems set to be her final tournament against Montenegro’s Danka Kovinic and could face second seed Anett Kontaveit in round two.

British No 1 Cameron Norrie is seeded in the top eight for the first time at a grand slam at seven, in the absence of Novak Djokovic who accepted yesterday that he will not be able to play in the tournament because of his unvaccinated status.

Norrie will face unpredictable Frenchman Benoit Paire in his opening game.

Andy Murray meets 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo from Argentina, while Beverley’s Kyle Edmund, playing singles at a grand slam for the first time in two years following three knee operations, has been handed a very tough opener against fifth seed Casper Ruud.

On fellow Brit Norrie’s chances of success, Murray said: “He’s been very consistent against guys ranked below him for most parts of this year so he’s definitely got the chance of a good run.

““It’s definitely more open this year but I’d imagine some of the guys that you would expect to go deep will go deep like your (Daniil) Medvedevs.

“I’d still expect Rafa to have a good tournament, (Carlos) Alcaraz and (Stefanos) Tsitsipas, but I do think there is going to be an opportunity there for Cam.

In a mixed draw for the British players, debutant Jack Draper, who is chasing a first ATP Tour title in Winston-Salem this week, will take on Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, 20th seed Dan Evans faces Czech Jiri Vesely and Harriet Dart meets 10th seed Daria Kasatkina.

Defending champion Daniil Medvedev is the top seed after Djokovic admitted defeat in his bid for entry and the Russian begins his campaign against American Stefan Kozlov.

Djokovic, who has won three times at Flushing Meadows among his 21 total grand slams, was hoping the United States would change its long-standing rules to allow non-citizens without a coronavirus vaccine to enter the country.

The Wimbledon champion, who was also banned from playing in the Australian Open due to his anti-vaccination stance, said after his SW19 success in July that he was waiting “hopefully for some good news from USA”.

But he tweeted: “Sadly, I will not be able to travel to NY this time for US Open.

“Good luck to my fellow players! I’ll keep in good shape and positive spirit and wait for an opportunity to compete again. See you soon tennis world!”

A statement from tournament director Stacey Allaster read: “Novak is a great champion and it is very unfortunate that he will be unable to compete at the 2022 US Open, as he is unable to enter the country due to the federal government’s vaccination policy for non-US citizens.”

Second seed Rafael Nadal, back at Flushing Meadows for the first time since winning his fourth title in 2019, faces Australian Rinky Hijikata while women’s top seed Swiatek faces Jasmine Paolini of Italy.

The most eye-catching first-round matches pit two-time former champion Naomi Osaka against Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins – with the winner potentially to face Raducanu in round three – while Nick Kyrgios faces his close friend and doubles partner Thanasi Kokkinakis.