"The US Open is choosing violence" - Tennis fans react to Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka's tough first-round draws

Tennis fans have been vocal in their reaction to Emma Raducanu and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka being handed tricky opening-round draws at the 2022 US Open. Raducanu will face World No. 37 Alize Cornet while Osaka will be up against Danielle Collins.

The duo could go on to lock horns as early as the third round. Given how underwhelming both of their seasons have been so far, the match-up will be an interesting one.

Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka's first-round matches have been the talk of the town on social media, with the US Open's official handle also joining in.

"Find a better pair of Grand Slam R1 matches than these. We'll wait," a tweet from the tournament's official handle read.

Tennis fans joined in soon after that. One fan opined that the pair's first-round matches were nothing short of "violence."

"The #USOpen is choosing violence lol! I already knew before today that the draws were going to be a mess!" they wrote.

Fans took sides with both the players and predicted the results of their respective matches. Here are some of the other reactions:

Emma Raducanu and Naomi Osaka might meet in 3rd round of US Open

Alize Cornet is one of the highest-ranked unseeded players Emma Raducanu could have come up against in the first round. An Australian Open quarterfinalist earlier this year, Cornet ended World No. 1 Iga Swiatek's 37-match winning streak at Wimbledon.

The New York Major will be Cornet's 63rd consecutive Major appearance, a record in women's tennis.

Emma Raducanu has her task cut out with tougher opponents awaiting her if she progresses deeper into the tournament. She could possibly run into Osaka as early as the third round and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in the fourth round.

Osaka, a two-time US Open winner (in 2018 and 2020), will be hoping to put her underwhelming season behind her with some good performances. But that won't be easy as Collins, the runner-up at the Australian Open earlier this year, is first up for the Japanese.

Even more eye-catching would be if Raducanu and Osaka crossed paths in the third round. Raducanu is coming off wins over Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka in Cincinnati, a big boost in the run-up to the US Open, while Osaka has lost three of her last four matches.

Either Osaka or Raducanu could potentially run into Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, while a meeting with Simona Halep or Coco Gauff could be in the offing in the final.