NEW YORK — The Williams sisters would meet in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open, a bit earlier than their matchup in the final of the last Grand Slam, Wimbledon.

Venus and Serena found themselves in the same part of the bracket when the Open held its draw Thursday.

On the men's side, struggling four-time defending champ Roger Federer might have to get through No. 3 Novak Djokovic to reach the final. Djokovic, the Australian Open champ, owns something Federer lacks this year: a Grand Slam title.

New No. 1 Rafael Nadal avoided a potential semifinal matchup with Djokovic, but several hot players are in his half of the draw. American James Blake, the No. 9 seed, is coming off a win over Federer at the Olympics.

Top seed Ana Ivanovic could face No. 6 Dinara Safina in the women's quarters. Safina has been playing well lately and won an Olympic silver medal.