ATP Roland Garros - DRAW: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem lead action

Roland Garros and the reduced Parisian crowd will welcome the third and final Major of the season in the next two weeks. One hundred twenty-eight players will fight for the prestigious title, and only one will embrace the glory. The champion should come from the leading trio of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. However, the rivals will give their best to spoil that party and battle for the trophy with new Wilson balls and under unusual weather conditions for the clay Major. The champion from 2016 and world no. 1 Novak Djokovic arrives in Paris with a lot of confidence, leaving the US Open default behind him and claiming the 36th Masters 1000 crown in Rome on Monday. Novak has won 31 out of 32 matches in 2020, and everyone will need to produce something special to drive him away from the 18th Major title, despite a couple of tough defeats in Paris in the last couple of years. Djokovic kicks off the campaign against Mikael Ymer, with another comfortable second-round opponent in Hugo Dellien or Ricardas Berankis.

Novak should pass the third round with ease, facing Ugo Humbert, Karen Khachanov or Cristian Garin in the quarters' battle. There, world no. 1 will play against Pablo Carreno Busta, Roberto Bautista Agut or Matteo Berrettini, looking good to advance into the semis from there. Daniil Medvedev, Dusan Lajovic, Andrey Rublev, Denis Shapovalov, Grigor Dimitrov, Filip Krajinovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will try to stand on the other side of the net in the semi-final encounter, all seeking the opportunity to reach the last four from the second quarter. Medvedev is yet to repeat his best matches on clay while Shapovalov played great in Rome, almost reaching the final. Tsitsipas is still alive in Hamburg, playing well and hoping to preserve energy for Paris.

Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem could meet in the semi-final at Roland Garros. 

Two-time finalist Dominic Thiem comes to Paris as the reigning US Open winner, drawing confidence and hoping for more of the same at his beloved Major. The Austrian will have to work hard to pass the quarter-final round, playing against Marin Cilic in the first round and Casper Ruud in the third. Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray should play one of the best first-round encounters, like that epic one from a couple of years ago. Diego Schwartzman, Borna Coric and Gael Monfils (complete lack of form) are also in Thiem's quarter, with all eyes set on the Austrian there. The 12-time Roland Garros winner Rafael Nadal opens the title defense versus Egor Gerasimov, with a solid draw before the quarter-final (Fabio Fognini and John Isner) where he could meet the US Open finalist Alexander Zverev. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/36hzDzB