Novak Djokovic's draw at the US Open has become much more straightforward for the Serb after several top seeds crashed out in the early rounds.

As the 23-time Grand Slam champion progressed through the last Grand Slam of the season at Flushing Meadows, he was expected to come up multiple top-ranked players.

On his side of the draw was fourth seed Holger Rune, fifth seed Casper Ruud, world No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 15 Felix Auger-Aliassime, all of whom have now been defeated in the first or second rounds of the New York major.

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Tiafoe only player left to challenge Djokovic

World No. 4 Rune was one of the first to go, losing his opening match to Roberto Carballes Baena. The Dane has been dealing with a back injury as of late that saw him retire from his first-round match at the Cincinnati Open earlier this month.

Auger-Aliassime also crashed out of his first match, losing to Mackenzie McDonald in four sets. He has been struggling throughout this season he failed to find his form again here.

Meanwhile, Tsitsipas was edged out by Dominic Stricker in the second round following a five-set battle in which three sets went to a tiebreak. In the same round, Ruud lost to Zhizhen Zhang in five sets.

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This means that the only player left on this side of the draw who is expected to challenge Djokovic is world No. 10 Frances Tiafoe. The American has been on form so far in the tournament, defeating both Learner Tien and Sebastian Ofner in straight sets, but defeating Djokovic is still a big ask, and the 36-year-old has won both of their meetings so far.

Tiafoe will face 22nd seed Adrian Mannarino in his next round, while Djokovic will be up against his compatriot and 32nd seed Laslo Djere.

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Onward and upward for Novak Djokovic!

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