NEW YORK CITY — Rafael Nadal could face Roger Federer and top-ranked Novak Djokovic might meet Juan Martin Del Potro in the US Open quarterfinals, before a potential semifinal clash for the world No. 1 against champion Andy Murray. Seventh-seed Federer, a 17-time Grand Slam winner whose run of five US Open titles in a row was halted by Del Potro in the 2009 final, was Thursday drawn into the same quarter as second seed Nadal, a 12-time Grand Slam winner who completed a career Slam with a 2010 US Open title. The top-ranked potential semifinal rivals for either Spaniard Nadal or Swiss star Federer would be Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer or French eighth seed Richard Gasquet. In the other half of the draw, Serbia's Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open champion and the 2011 US Open winner, has a tough path to the Sept. 9 men's final that would include a last-eight matchup against Argentina's Del Potro. Djokovic might then have a semifinal against defending champion and third seed Andy Murray of Britain just to reach the final, with Murray's highest-ranked opponent in his quarter being Czech fifth seed Tomas Berdych. On the women's side, world No. 1 and top seed Serena Williams could face eighth seed Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals and either Polish third seed Agnieszka Radwanska or Chinese fifth seed Li Na in the semifinals. In the other half of the women's draw, second seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and Czech seventh seed Petra Kvitova were drawn into the same quarter of the field with possible opponents in the semi-finals including Italian fourth seed Sara Errani, a 2012 US Open semifinalist, and Danish sixth seed Caroline Wozniacki. Sharapova withdraws from the US Open Maria Sharapova pulled out of the US Ope Wednesday because of a right shoulder injury. The US Tennis Association announced the withdrawal of the 2006 champion, who has played only one match on tour since her second-round loss at Wimbledon in June. Sharapova originally was seeded third at the US Open. The USTA said 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanksa would shift from No. 4 to No. 3, and all other seeded players below her would move up a spot, too. “I just wanted to let you know that withdrawing from the US Open has been a really tough decision to make. I have done everything I could since Wimbledon to get myself ready but it just wasn't enough time,” read a message posted on Sharapova's Facebook page Wednesday. “I have done many tests, received several opinions and it all comes down to taking the proper amount of time to heal my shoulder injury properly.” The USTA said Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova would become the No. 32 seed. Earlier Wednesday, former top-10 player Mardy Fish withdrew from the US Open, citing personal reasons. — Agencies
