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The 2026 US Open main draw is out and it's wide open. Sinner's out, Alcaraz is back but rusty, and nobody looks like the guy to beat.
Norm, JB, and Natalie Cutter break down both draws: whether Alcaraz gets out of a quarter stacked with Shelton, Fils, and Tommy Paul; why the last three Cincinnati winners went on to win the Open; Menšík's path through the soft second quarter; and a fourth quarter on the women's side with Świątek, Osaka, Rybakina, Keys, and Bencic that reads like a bracket unto itself.
Plus: the Wawrinka wild card mess and what actually goes into handing them out, JB on how draws really get made after years inside ATP events, the ticket-price backlash against a $23 honey deuce that somehow didn't go up this year, Federer's exhibition night and why Andre was the awkward one, and Sabalenka's fishnet kit getting torched online.
Then Nat's Numbers on where the value actually sits in round one — set betting on Berrettini/Wawrinka, live-betting angles on Fils/Tsitsipas, and futures on Shelton and Djokovic if you think Alcaraz goes early.
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"US Open 2026: The Honey Deuce Recovery Plan" is an episode of Breaking Back, a tennis podcast. Runtime 56 min. Published August 31, 2026. Hit play above to stream it here, or open the free Spot Sports app for background play and offline downloads.