New York, United States, 20 August 2013 | tennis.com.au

A 13-strong Australian contingent will take to the hard courts of New York this week in a bid to qualify for the main draw of the US Open.

And six of them will be in action on Tuesday, the first day of men’s and women’s qualifying action at Flushing Meadows.

Matt Ebden leads the way among our male players as the 14th seed in qualifying, and will take on Oleksandr Nedovyesov of Ukraine in his opening match later today (US Eastern time).

> view the US Open men’s qualifying draw

Taking to Court 6 a few matches after Ebden will be fellow Aussie Sam Groth; the Victorian has drawn Japan’s Hiroki Moriya.

It’s a tough section for Groth, who would likely have to go through No.20 seed Jesse Levine and then top seed Federico Delbonis if he was to reach the main draw.

Sydneysider Matt Reid takes on German Andreas Beck in his first round match, and should they both win through, he could face compatriot Ebden in the final round for a prized main-draw berth.

On Court 17 – the main show court for qualifying – in the final match of the day will be Matt Barton, who faces former world No.1 junior and local star Donald Young. Eighth seed Marc Gicquel of France looms as a potential second round opponent for the winner.

Of our women in action on Tuesday, Casey Dellacqua is the highest ranked (at No.138) and seeded 27th in US Open qualifying.

The Aussie, who hasn’t played since reaching the Wimbledon doubles final with compatriot Ash Barty, will take on Chieh-Yu Hsu of the United States. In-form top seed Shahar Peer looms as a final-round foe for Dellacqua.

Olivia Rogowska faces a tough opening assignment in No.8 seed Johanna Konta of Great Britain, but does take into that battle the confidence of a recent finals appearance at the Landisville ITF event in Pennsylvania.

> view the US Open women’s qualifying draw

The remaining Aussies in qualifying will open their campaigns at Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.

In a bittersweet outcome, Greg Jones and Nick Kyrgios have drawn each other in the first round, ensuring that at least one Australian progresses to round two. Ninth seed Joao Souza of Brazil is the projected second-round opponent.

Meanwhile, several of our Aussie women have been dealt tough first-round tasks.

Monique Adamczak has drawn No.2 seed Sharon Fichman of Canada, and Sacha Jones comes up against 24th-seeded Frenchwoman Pauline Parmentier.

Youngster Storm Sanders has managed to avoid a seed; in her first Grand Slam appearance outside of Australia, the 19-year-old will play Uzbekistan’s Nigina Abduraimova.

Anastasia Rodionova, as our highest-ranked Aussie woman in qualifying, is a seed herself at No.14, and has drawn local Irina Falconi.

Rodionova’s sister Arina faces Brit Samantha Murray, with the winner next taking on either 11th seed Eva Birnerova or former junior No.1 Taylor Townsend of the US.