New Zealand's top ranked doubles player Michael Venus and his South African partner Raven Klaasen have been seeded 8th for the US Open tennis tournament which starts tonight.
The Wimbledon doubles finalists will face singles players Slovakian Lukas Lacko and Australian John Millman first up.
All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, England; The Wimbledon Tennis Championships, Michael Venus (NZL) and Raven Klaasen (RSA) Photo: PHOTOSPORT
They are seeded to face 12th seeds ex Kiwi Ben McLachlan, who now plays for Japan, and Germany's Jan Lennard Struff in the third round.
Venus and Klaasen are 17th and 19th individually in the ATP doubles rankings and are 6th in the race to qualify for the ATP World Tour finals in London in November. A strong showing in New York should book their place in the eight strong field for London.
The other Kiwis in the draw, Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell have received tougher draws.
Sitak and his Indian partner Divij Sharan will face the American wildcard pair of Martin Redlicki and Evan Zhu and if they win would could meet 7th seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo. Sitak and Sharan have not been playing together over the past few weeks with Sharan representing India at the Asian Games in Jakarta.
Marcus Daniell and his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof have been pitted against the experienced Belarussian Max Mirnyi and Austrian Philip Oswald. If they can get past that tough team they could potentially face in form 4th seeds Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray in the second round.
The first round of the doubles will be split over Thursday and Friday New Zealand time.
Rafa Nadal. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
World number one Rafael Nadal and American Serena Williams will be the big names during the US Open's opening day, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Open Era.
Nadal will be trying to defend the men's title and Williams will be trying to take home her seventh New York trophy and secure the 24th title of her career, thus equalling the record of Margaret Court.
Nadal, who is seeking his fourth US Open title, will go up against his compatriot and friend David Ferrer.
Also in action on the first day are Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Murray, Sloane Stephens and Venus and Serena Williams.
