Youzhny, who beat world number two Rafael Nadal en route to the last four in 2006, is in the same quarter of the draw as this year’s third seed Novak Djokovic, whom he beat on his way to the Rotterdam title in February.

The big guns in the men’s draw are rolled out at Arthur Ashe Stadium later in the day as second seed Nadal of Spain begins his quest for the US Open title and top-seeded Roger Federer attempts to reach the third round.

French Open champion Nadal is bidding to become the sixth man in the history of the Open era to win at Roland Garros and here in the same year, and he opens his campaign against Australian wildcard Alun Jones, who at 27 is making his US Open debut.

In four years of playing at Flushing Meadows, however, Nadal has never offered a threat to Federer’s dominance, having not made it past the quarter-finals.

Federer extended his winning streak in New York to 22 straight matches with a first round triumph over American Scoville Jenkins and the world number one faces Chilean qualifier Paul Capdeville in a second-round showdown during the evening session as he chases a fourth consecutive Wimbledon-US Open double.

Assuming Federer avoids an historic upset, he could face American John Isner in the third round.

The 22-year-old Isner, who upset 26th seed Jarkko Nieminen in his Grand Slam debut on Monday, faces South African qualifier Rik De Voest in the day session’s final match at Louis Armstrong Stadium.

Also in action among the men’s top 16 are number eight Tommy Robredo of Spain, who faces American Bobby Reynolds in his first round match, while seventh-seeded Fernando Gonzalez goes for his first win since Wimbledon against Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili.