NEW YORK -- Texas A&M sophomore All-American men’s tennis player Austin Krajicek heads to the U.S. Open this weekend for a crack at the world’s best in the sport.

Krajicek earned a wild-card entry into the 128-player men’s singles draw after winning the USTA Boys 18’s National Championships on Aug. 10 in Kalamazoo, Mich. The 18-year-old lefty from Brandon, Fla., previously played in the grand slam event twice in 2006 and 2007 reaching the finals of junior doubles with partner Jarmere Jenkins of College Park, Ga. This will mark his first appearance in the main draw of men’s singles competition which includes top-ranked Rafael Nadal among other notable tennis players in the world.

He will face Agustin Calleri of Argentina, who is currently ranked No. 49 in the world, in the opening round to be played on Monday or Tuesday at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y. Calleri, who has been ranked as high as No. 16 in the world, has appeared in seven U.S. Opens advancing to the third round on two occasions in 2000 and 2007.

“I am really looking forward to getting up there and playing again,” said Krajicek who deems the U.S. Open as his favorite of the grand slams. “Being in New York is really fun and representing A&M is going to be good. I have some unofficial maroon and white to wear on the court and I think if I play well, I will have a good shot of winning a match or two.”

Honored as co-Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and co-Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, Krajicek turned in a successful rookie season for A&M compiling a team-leading 16-7 record in dual match play in 2008. The then-17-year-old joined the Aggies in January and after six months of competition was named All-Big 12 in singles and doubles advancing to the semifinals of the NCAA Doubles Championship with teammate Conor Pollock of San Antonio, Texas. He entered A&M as the seventh-highest rated player in the Class of 2008 by the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Krajicek is currently ranked No. 892 in the world and competed this summer on the USTA Futures Pro Circuit as an amateur. He will be joined in the Big Apple by his father, Rob, Texas A&M head coach Steve Denton and assistant coach Bob McKinley. Denton and McKinley both had successful professional careers on the ATP Tour. Denton won 20 professional doubles titles including the U.S. Open doubles title in 1982 and was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles and No. 2 in the world in doubles. Meanwhile, McKinley reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1973 and the doubles semifinals at the U.S. Open in 1972.

“I’ve been playing pretty well,” said Krajicek on his match preparation since winning at Kalamazoo. “We’ve had a tough week of training with (A&M strength coach) Monty Gibson in the gym and also with Coach Denton doing some three out of five set matches to try to get used to that format instead of two out of three which is tough. But, I had a good week of practice and I think I’ll be ready physically and tennis wise come Monday or Tuesday.”

Krajicek’s half of the bracket includes the likes of the No. 2, No. 3, No. 5 and No. 8 seeds in four-time defending U.S. Open champion Roger Federer of Switzerland, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and American Andy Roddick respectively. Television and match times will be released over the next couple of days after the qualifying tournament is completed. Matches will be aired on CBS and the USA Network.

The U.S. Open, one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, will be held from Aug. 25-Sept. 7. This will be the second-straight year in which an Aggie men’s tennis player will compete at the U.S. Open as former Texas A&M All-American Lester Cook (2002-04) played in the qualifying rounds of singles in 2007. Of the singles wild card entries, Krajicek is the youngest and only current college player in the field. He and junior doubles partner Jarmere Jenkins also look to gain a wild-card entry into the men’s doubles main draw which will be announced at a later date. The duo is ranked No. 1184 in the world and were the top doubles seeds at the USTA Boys 18’s National Championships held earlier this month.

“They (U.S. Open staff and fans) treat you like you are the best of the best,” said Krajicek of the tournament experience. “It is one of the best tournaments in the world. It will be really fun to be in the same locker room as Nadal, Federer and all of those great players with the possibility of maybe even playing one of them. I’m really looking forward to it and it’s really going to be a great time.”

Krajicek joins a select few who have don the Maroon and White to ever compete in the main draw of the grand slam event. Former two-time All-American and two-time Olympian Grant Connell (1984-85) of Canada reached the third round of singles and semifinals of doubles at the U.S. Open during his professional career on the ATP Tour. His most memorable match was playing Andre Agassi in the first round on center court in Flushing Meadows. Former A&M standout Brian Joelson (1981-83), whose son Brett Joelson played for the Aggies from 2004-07, competed in the qualifying round of singles and the main draw of doubles.