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As an unseeded participant with a rating of No. 276 on the planet, Rafael Nadal was at all times going to be on the mercy of the French Open draw.
To say that the draw ceremony proved to be unkind for him can be an understatement.
Nadal might be going up towards none aside from world No. 4 and reigning Rome Masters champion Alexander Zverev within the opening spherical. It’s a rematch of the dramatic 2022 Roland Garros semifinals, by which Nadal took the primary set in a tiebreaker earlier than getting a retirement from Zverev within the second-set tiebreaker resulting from a horrible ankle harm.
This time round will probably be a wholesome Zverev in peak type towards a 37-year-old Nadal who has performed sparingly over the previous two seasons due to a hip harm.
In fact, the 22-time Grand Slam champion can by no means be counted out–particularly not on this floor He has lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires 14 occasions and is definitely the King of Clay. The Spaniard leads the head-to-head collection towards Zverev 7-3, together with 5-1 on clay.
Whoever emerges victorious in that marquee contest might finally meet Holger Rune within the final 16, however the Danish star has been struggling. Daniil Medvedev additionally finds himself in that part of the bracket, however clay is Medvedev’s worst floor.
Additionally within the prime half is, in fact, No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic. The 37-tear-old Serb will kick off his fortnight towards Frenchman Pierre Hugues-Herbert earlier than presumably operating into Lorenzo Musetti within the third spherical, Tommy Paul within the fourth spherical, and two-time runner-up Casper Ruud within the quarterfinals.
On the opposite facet of the draw, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are on a collision course for the semifinals. It’s protected to say that neither participant is assured to make it that far, as each have been coping with accidents. If Sinner and/or Alcaraz falter, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Andrey Rublev, and Hubert Hurkacz might be trying to capitalize.
Along with Zverev vs. Nadal, first-round matchups to look at are Ruud vs. Jakub Mensik, Stan Wawrinka vs. Andy Murray, Alex de Minaur vs. Alex Michelsen, Ugo Humbert vs. Lorenzo Sonego, Arthur Fils vs. Matteo Arnaldi, and Alexei Popyrin vs. Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and likewise maintains his personal tennis web site, The Grandstand. You may comply with him on Twitter at @Dimonator.
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