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US Open entry list: Berdych withdrawal, Big Four in and more

By Keshav Gopalan

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with the championship trophy during the trophy ceremony after their Men's Singles Finals match on Day Fourteen of the 2017 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 10, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Rafael Nadal defeated Kevin Anderson in the third set with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 10: Rafael Nadal of Spain poses with the championship trophy during the trophy ceremony after their Men's Singles Finals match on Day Fourteen of the 2017 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 10, 2017 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Rafael Nadal defeated Kevin Anderson in the third set with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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The US Open will be upon us in the next 5 and a half weeks, which means that the entry list has been released. This is because Grand Slam entry lists are to be released 6 weeks prior.

All players within the top 100 got direct entry into the main draw, except for Tomas Berdych, who withdrew because of his niggling back issue which seems to continue to bother him.

Victor Troicki from Serbia was the last player to receive a direct entry. He is currently ranked 102 in the world. 101 men from 40 different countries received direct entry into the US Open. The rest of the 27 spots in the main draw will go as follows.

16 players will get entry into the draw through qualifying, while up to 8 spots are reserved for Wildcards. The rest of the spots are awarded through protected rankings or special exempts.

What are Protected Rankings and Special Exempts?

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Protected ranking: When a player who has been out of action for over a period of 6 or 12 months, they can use their “protected” rankings to gain direct entry into slams or other tournaments.

Special exempt: When a player who is to appear in the qualifying rounds of competition is unable to because they’re playing another tournament. This usually happens when they go deep in a tournament.

Andy Murray applied for entry into the US Open using his protected ranking and is among 3 players to have received direct entry using their PR: Yoshihito Nishioka from Japan and Germany’s Cedrik-Marcel Stebe.

Did you know?

Despite meeting each other in 38 different occasions, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have never met each other in the US Open. The two are expected to be the top 2 seeds for this year’s US Open, and will only meet each other in the final.

Next: What comes next for Stan Wawrinka?

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