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By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, Could 25, 2023
King of clay Rafa Nadal famously stated struggling is a prerequisite for Roland Garros success.
In Nadal’s absence from Paris, Novak Djokovic is taking a look at a tough street to historical past.
More: Swiatek, Sabalenka Face Tough Tests in RG Draw
Launching his quest for a males’s file twenty third Grand Slam championship in Paris, Djokovic faces a probably painful path to a seventh Paris ultimate.
The 2023 Roland Garros draw was performed in Paris as we speak and pits World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic in the identical high half of a loaded draw.
Meaning if seeds maintain true to kind, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Djokovic must face US Open champion Alcaraz within the semifinals.
The highest half of the sphere contains the one two former French Open males’s champions within the discipline—Djokovic and 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka—in addition to 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, reigning Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, who owns a clay-court win over Djokovic this season, Cameron Norrie, who owns a clay-court finals win over Alcaraz, Karen Khachanov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The @RolandGarros Males’s Prime Half Draw: pic.twitter.com/Xo8GUs7TNw
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) May 25, 2023
The @RolandGarros Males’s Backside Half Draw: pic.twitter.com/yERucmBO8j
— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) May 25, 2023
It was a bittersweet draw day as organizers, media and followers confronted a draw with out 14-time champion Nadal, who has performed Paris yearly since his 2005 debut when he defeated Argentinean left-hander Mariano Puerta to seize his maiden main.
“[Nadal’s withdrawal] was greeted with disappointment. I believed quite a bit about him within the first place, we all know that his story is intimately linked to this event,” event director Amelie Mauresmo informed the media in Paris after the draw. “It was unhappy, however as we speak it’s [the draw] so we should additionally say that it’s going to open alternatives to different gamers.
“Personally I feel that Carlos Alcaraz arrives very ready. Novak Djokovic, even when he hasn’t gained many matches recently, continues to be harmful, particularly in Grand Slams.”
World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev anchors the underside half of the draw.
Recent off his run to his first profession clay-court crown in Rome, Medvedev must be happy together with his draw.
The 2021 US Open champion opens with a qualifier together with his first potential seeded opponent No. 27-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka.
Rome runner-up Holger Rune, who has reached three finals in 4 clay-court tournaments this season, 2022 Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud, No. 8-seeded Jannik Sinner, Olympic gold-medal champion Alexander Zverev, Cincinnati champion Borna Coric, No. 9-seeded Taylor Fritz and Francisco Cerundolo are among the many threats within the backside half of the draw.
Photograph credit score: Getty
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