The Serbian, who will arrive in New York bidding for a 13th Grand Slam title, has been out of sorts recently following shock defeats at Wimbledon and the Olympic tournament at Rio 2016 earlier this month.

Djokovic was beaten by American Sam Querrey in the third round at the All England Club before big-hitting Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro ended his attempt at securing an Olympic gold medal at the first round stage.

The 29-year-old will compete at the US Open, a tournament he has won twice - in 2011 and 2015 - under pressure to reverse his uncharacteristically poor form as of late.

The top players in the men's game would have been glad to avoid former champion Del Potro, who has returned with a new lease of life following a torrid spell of injuries, as he is unseeded.

He will take on compatriot Diego Schwartzman in round one, while Spaniard Nadal will go up against Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin.

Olympic gold medallist and Wimbledon champion Andy Murray of Britain, who clinched his first-ever Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2012, will face the Czech Republic's Lukas Rosol.

The second seed was involved in a feisty affair with Rosol at last year's Munich Open, during which Murray told Rosol that "nobody liked him" on the tour.

Swiss maestro Roger Federer will be a notable absentee at the competition having been ruled out with injury.

This year's edition of the final Grand Slam of the season will be the first he has missed since 1999.

In the women's draw, world number one Serena Williams entertains Russia's Ekaterina Makarova, winner of an Olympic gold at Rio 2016 in the doubles competition.

The American, who has six US Open crowns to her name, also suffered an early exit in Rio and will be keen to bounce back on home soil.

World number two Angelique Kerber of Germany's opponent will be Slovenian Polona Hercog, with Romania's Simona Halep taking on Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium.

The tournament gets underway with the first set of matches on Monday (August 29).