Highlights of the U.S Open Men's Qualifying Draw

128 will be on hand, looking for 16 spots in the U.S. Open main draw for qualifiers.  This is a huge deal and the draw is loaded with players capable of pulling an upset.  They are playing for prize money, but the real prize is making it to the main draw next week.

Let's look at some of the contenders and matches that stand out.

Joao Souza of Brazil is the top seed.  He looks like he might have the easiest path, he could face one of the hardest working players in tennis along the way, Roman Borvanov.

The #1 player in the Dominican Republic is in the draw.  That would be Victor Estrella, he makes his living playing mostly Futures events around the Caribbean.

Marsel Ihlan of Turkey might be the best player in the draw.  He is the #3 seed, and he played well in qualifying for Cincinnati.

Joao Sousa of Portugal is also in the field.  Do not confuse him with Joao Souza, who I mentioned earlier.

Americans are littered throughout the draw.  They include, Alex Kuznetsov, Daniel Kosakowski, Tim Smyczek of Milwaukee, and Rhyne Williams, a Tennessee Volunteer who plays veteran, Rik   De Voest.

Believe it or not, Wayne Odesnik is the #19 seed, and he stands a pretty good chance of qualifying.

Keep an eye on young American players like Mitchell Frank, Denis Kudla, Bjorn Frantangelo and Blake Strode, who again won the National Playoff competition this year.

One match to make a note of is an All-American matchup of Bradley Klahn taking on Tennys Sandgren, and yes, that is his real name.

Nice to see Jesse Witten in the draw, as his retirement draws near.  Also, I'll be interested to see who prevails in the James Ward vs. Michael Yani match.

Qualifying for the U.S. Open is free to the public and makes for some interesting tennis.

Marsel Ilhan is the #3 seed in qualifying