The world No.6 will face a qualifier in the opening round at Flushing Meadows and though, naturally, that's no guarantee of an easy passage, it bodes promisingly for a man getting back into the swing of big-time tennis after his marriage seven weeks ago.
Sixth seed de Minaur has had three tournaments since tying the knot with British star Katie Boulter last month, and it wasn't exactly an on-court honeymoon for him in any of them before being well beaten by Arthur Fils in the Cincinnati Open last-16.
But the start of his Flushing Meadows route looks encouraging, with a possible second-round date with Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp and a potential third-round duel with Belgian Zizou Bergs, the No.31 seed.
By the fourth round, it's looking really tough, though, as he's scheduled to meet world No.13 Rafael Jodar, the brilliant 19-year-old Spaniard who crushed de Minaur in their only meeting at the Madrid Open on clay in April and who's since made giant strides on hard courts too.
In the quarter-finals, with 'Demon's' nemesis Jannik Sinner out of action with a concerning knee injury, top seed Alexander Zverev would represent an almost equally formidable test as he owns an 8-3 career head-to-head advantage over the Australian, whose only wins over the German have come in team events.
Jodar will meet another Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis, who's battling back from injuries and is on a protected ranking, in the first round.
Others among the 13-strong Aussie contingent -- which could be increased as three more were seeking qualification in Thursday's final round -- had tough draws, with Rinky Hijikata first up against Canadian No.3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and James Duckworth facing Italian 30th seed Matteo Arnaldi.
Novak Djokovic, down to No.5 in the rankings, launches his bid for that elusive record-breaking 25th slam singles crown against Argentina's tough world No.48 Mariano Navone.
Newly restored as Australian women's No.1, Daria Kasatkina has been handed a bit of a horror run, with former world No.2 Paula Badosa, now down to No.83 after injury woes, still representing a dangerous first-round barrier.
If Kasatkina negotiates that, she'll probably face former champion Coco Gauff in the second round, presuming the No.4 seed can see off Turkish No.1 Zeynep Sonmez.
Maya Joint will have her hands full again with Liudmila Samsonova, the big-hitting Russian who defeated her at the canadian Open earlier in the month and at Wimbledon last year.
Defending champion and world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, who's been ailing, opens up against Colombia's Camila Osorio.
WHO THE AUSTRALIANS WILL FACE IN THE US OPEN FIRST ROUND (number denotes seeding) (WC - wildcard)
Men's singles
6-Alex de Minaur v Qualifier
Alexei Popyrin v Qualifier
Adam Walton v Yibing Wu (CHN)
Rinky Hijikata v 3-Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
Aleksandar Vukic v Qualifier
James Duckworth v 30-Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
Thanasi Kokkinakis v 12-Rafael Jodar (ESP)
Dane Sweeny (WC) v Corentin Moutet (FRA)
Women's singles:
Maya Joint v Liudmila Samsonova (RUS)
Daria Kasatkina v Paula Badosa
Kimberly Birrell v Petra Marcinko (CRO)
Talia Gibson v Donna Vekic (CRO)
Taylah Preston (WC) v Alycia Parks (USA)
