Roland Garros: Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz in the same half of the table

Published on: 05/20/2022 – 00:18Modified on: 05/20/2022 – 00:19 After the draws on Thursday, Novak Djokovic, trophy holder, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will face each other before the Roland-Garros final, since all three are in the same half of the table. The French will have a lot to do to hope to reach the quarters. Explosive draw at Roland-Garros: Novak Djokovic, world n°1 and holder of the trophy, Rafael Nadal, king of ocher, and the young Spanish phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz all three landed in the same half of the table Thursday, May 19, three days before the start of the Parisian Grand Slam. If the logic is respected, Djokovic and Nadal, current world No. 5, will challenge each other in the quarter-finals. A round earlier than last year, when the Serb overthrew the Spaniard, thirteen times winner in Paris, on his beloved land. Potentially, a face-to-face with Alcaraz could follow in the semi-finals, the rising star of the circuit, already at the gates of the top 5 at 19 years old. The young Spaniard has just beaten Nadal and Djokovic in Madrid in early May, on the way to his second title in the Masters 1000. A first in the same tournament on ocher. The protege of Juan-Carlos Ferrero, winner of Roland-Garros in 2003, is having a hair-raising spring: before his dream week in the Spanish capital, he opened his record in Masters 1000 at the beginning of April in Miami, then won at Barcelona. “We have a very dense game with at least two of the big favorites,” said Amélie Mauresmo, who became tournament director at the end of 2021. Djokovic to conquer a 21st trophy Returned to himself after a first quarter started by the incredible soap opera of his expulsion from Australia and passed almost to a halt, for lack of vaccination against Covid-19, Djokovic is in search on Parisian clay of a 21st trophy in Grand Slam which would allow him to equal the record held by Nadal since winning the Australian Open in January. The Serb, who has just won in Rome – his first title in more than six months – and who will turn 35 on Sunday, will start his fortnight against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (94th). As for Nadal, a lot will depend on his foot left, reached for more than fifteen years by an illness which he describes as “chronic and incurable” and which badly betrayed him last week in Rome (elimination in eighths). Appeared without visible embarrassment in training since his arrival in Paris on Wednesday, the Majorcan, soon to be 36, will start against the Australian Jordan Thompson (82nd). been merciless on Thursday for the Blues. Starting with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who will put away the rackets at the end of the tournament: from the first round, the former world No. 5, who has fallen to 267th place, will be opposed to one of the terrors of clay, the Norwegian Casper Ruud (8th). For his last Roland-Garros, Gilles Simon who will retire at the end of the year, will face the Spaniard Pablo Carreno (17th). The other “old man” of French tennis, Richard Gasquet (75th) who will play the semi-finals in Geneva, will have to have regained all his strength to face the South African Lloyd Harris (37th), especially since a victory would likely face the American Sebastian Korda (30th) in the 2nd round. In the absence of French n°1 Gaël Monfils (22nd) who withdrew, the best Habs in the table is Ugo Humbert (45th). After a difficult start to the season since he has not passed the 2nd round in any of the tournaments played in 2021, he will have a hard time facing the Finn Emil Ruusuvuori (61st) who notably reached the quarters in Munich. Iga Swiatek big favoriteIn the women’s draw, world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, on a series of 28 consecutive victories and grand favorite, risks meeting Simona Halep, winner of Roland-Garros in 2018 and ex-world No. 1, from the round of 16. If she crosses the Romanian obstacle, Paula Badosa (3rd) or Aryna Sabalenka (7th) could wait for her in the last four. The second half of the table, with the Czech Barbora Krejcikova (2nd), outgoing champion but at a standstill since February (elbow), and Maria Sakkari (4th), could smile at the Tunisian Ons Jabeur (6th), recently victorious in Madrid and finalist in Rome.