Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were placed in the same part of the Roland Garros draw after the draw held this Thursday in Paris. The Serbian, current champion of the tournament, could face the Balearic Islands, thirteen times winner in Paris, in the quarterfinals and the winner of this duel would play in a possible semifinal against Alcaraz, the most fit tennis player in the first part of the year, with victories in the Masters 1,000 in Miami and Madrid and victory in the Barcelona tournament. The draw wanted three of the top favorites to win to cross paths before the final.
Djokovic, 35, will debut in the tournament against Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (94 in the world), while Nadal, who will turn 36 during the competition, will do so against Australian Jordan Thompson (82 in the ATP ranking). Alcaraz, 19, will debut in Paris against a rival from the previous phase, with a possible confrontation against the German Alexander Zverev (number 3) in a possible quarter-final match.
On the other side of the table, the number 2 in the world, the Russian Daniil Medvedev, who has just reappeared after undergoing surgery for a hernia, could face Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year’s runner-up, in the semifinals, who awaits a complicated opening match against Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
The dates are yet to be confirmed, but the first round will be played between next Sunday and Tuesday. Each tie will last two days and the semifinals will be played on Thursday, June 2 and Friday, June 3, while the men’s final will be held on Sunday, June 5, and the women’s will be on Saturday, June 4.
At the event in the French capital, Djokovic, world number one, will seek victory in his 21st Grand Slam, which would tie Nadal in major titles. The Spaniard achieved this record by winning the Australian Open, where the Balkan could not play after being expelled by the authorities for not being vaccinated against covid.
In the women’s draw, the big favorite, Iga Swiatek, will try to win her second Roland Garros in three years and could face former champion Jelena Ostapenko in the round of 16. Ostapenko was the last player to beat the Polish world number one before she began her run of twenty-eight matches without suffering a loss, winning five titles before the start of the French tournament. Defending champion Barbora Krejcikova could meet former number one Victoria Azarenka in the round of 16.
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