ATP Roland Garros - DRAW: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer share top half

For the first time in history, the 58-time Major champion Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are drawn in the same half of a Major draw! Seeded 1st, 3rd and 8th, Novak, Rafa and Roger are all packed in the top half, with a possible Djokovic vs. Federer clash in the quarters and the battle of titans between Djokovic and Nadal in the semis. That leaves the door wide open in the bottom half, with Dominic Thiem as the only Major champion! Djokovic will face Tennys Sandgren in the opening round, hoping to travel to Paris after winning the Belgrade 2 ATP 250 event at home. Novak should be safe in the opening three rounds before facing Lorenzo Musetti, David Goffin or Alex de Minaur in the fourth. Matteo Berrettini and Roger Federer lead the bottom half of the opening quarter, with Felix Auger-Aliassime as their main opponent. Federer will face a qualifier in the opening round, and his draw looks good on paper, hoping to raise his level and gain momentum with a couple of wins ahead of the grass season.

The 3rd seed Rafael Nadal lost only 23 games in the opening four matches in Paris last October, with more challenging rivals standing on his way this time. The 13-time champion plays against Alexei Popyrin in the first round before facing Hugo Gaston or Richard Gasquet. Rafa will have to beat Cameron Norrie or Lorenzo Sonego in the third round before the fourth-round clash against Jannik Sinner, whom he beat in the quarters last year. Nadal will face Diego Schwartzman, Aslan Karatsev or Andrey Rublev in the quarters ahead of that possible Novak Djokovic semi-final encounter.

Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic are in the top half.

Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Dominic Thiem and Stefanos Tsitsipas should provide the second finalist, with the slightest chances for the Russian, who is yet to win a match in Paris! Zverev and Thiem are the top-ranked players in the third quarter, followed by Kei Nishikori, Casper Ruud, Roberto Bautista Agut and Fabio Fognini, all seeking the semi-final spot. The Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas stands as a favorite in the bottom quarter, reaching the semis in Paris last year and seeking another deep run in the next two weeks. Stefanos has to beat Pablo Carreno Busta, Reilly Opelka, John Isner and Daniil Medvedev en route to the semis, and he should achieve that if he brings his A-game.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3vuTQvc