Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz were in the same section of the men’s draw at the French Open after the draw was made on Thursday before the Grand Slam tournament on clay.
Djokovic, the defending champion and top seed, could meet Nadal in the quarterfinals. A year ago, Djokovic defeated Nadal in the semifinals at Roland Garros.
Nadal is the holder of the record for the most titles on clay in Paris, with a total of 13 titles. At the beginning of the year, the Spaniard consecrated himself at the Australian Open to raise his 21st major, placing himself ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer in the historical table.
The French Open will be Djokovic’s first major since the US Open last year. The Serbian could not play in Australia because he had not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
If the Djokovic-Nadal duel takes place, the winner could face Alcaraz (seeded 6) in the semifinals. Alcaraz, the 19-year-old Spanish prodigy, won the Madrid Open title on clay and became the youngest player to break into the Top 10 ranking since Nadal in 2005.
Alcaraz could meet Alexander Zverev (seeded 3) in the quarterfinals.
Potential quarter-final matchups on the other side of the bracket would see 2nd-seeded Daniil Medvedev take on 7th-seeded Andrey Rublev, a duel of Russians who will not be able to play at Wimbledon due to that country’s invasion of Ukraine. Stefanos Tsitsipas, finalist of the last edition, would go against Casper Ruud (8th).
The tournament will get underway on Sunday.
