Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal's title defense of his US Open begins later this month. In this undated handout image, Nadal of Spain, the 2017 US Open Men's Singles champion, poses with the winner's trophy in New York City. Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

The US Open takes place later this month from Aug. 27 to Sept. 9 as the No. 1-ranked Rafael Nadal will look to retain the title he won so comfortably last year.

Roger Federer, meanwhile, will be looking for his first triumph at Flushing Meadows since 2008 while Novak Djokovic, fresh off his Wimbledon win last month, will also be on the hunt to add to his 13 Grand Slams.

And there will be an even bigger incentive to win the competition this time out as there will be a Grand Slam record $53 million overall given out to the players in participation.

This is more than the French Open ($47.14 million), Wimbledon ($46.4 million) and the Australian Open ($41.3 million).

In addition, the winner of the men's and women's singles finals will receive $3.8 million each, a $100,000 increase from the previous year. The runner-up will make just under half of that with $1.85 million.

Players featuring in the singles main draw alone will be able to make $54,000. As for the men and women's doubles competition, the winners will make a US Open record high of $700,000.

The full prize money earnings are listed below for singles competition:

Winner: $3,800,000

Runner-Up: $1,850,000

Semifinalist: $925,000

Quarterfinalist: $475,000

Round of 16: $266,000

Round of 32: $156,000

Round of 64: $93,000

Round of 128: $54,000

While the increase in prize money is a common trend for Grand Slams in recent years, this year is particularly special for the US Open as it is the 50th anniversary of the tournament.

"2018 is a significant year in our history," chairman and president of the US Tennis Association Katrina Adams said last month. "Not only is it the 50th anniversary of the tournament, we also have completed the five-year transformation of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. We know that we are poised for incredible growth moving forward."

Despite being the reigning champion, Nadal is not the favorite to win in New York. Instead, Djokovic, who defeated Nadal in the Wimbledon semifinal, is the current favorite to win the US Open as oddmakers believe he is well and truly back to his best after a forgettable 2017.

The Serbian's dominance in recent years over Federer sees the Swiss legend having the second-best odds.

If Djokovic were to win what would be his third US Open title, he could also overtake both Nadal and Federer when it comes to prize money won in 2018.

According to Forbes, Nadal currently heads the list with his four titles won in the calendar year contributing to him earning $6,717,922 in prize money while Federer's three titles have contributed to his $5,088,440 in earnings.

Djokovic entered the top three with his Wimbledon win as he has earned $4,330,630 so far.

Dallas native John Isner is the only American in the top 10 with his $3,078,050 in earnings putting him at seventh, just behind Australian Open finalist Marin Cilic who has earned $3,218,204.

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