Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in same half of French Open draw
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Novak Djokovic is chasing a 23 Grand Slam title but world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz could stand in his way in the French Open semi-finals.
PHOTO: AFP
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PARIS – Novak Djokovic could play world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the French Open after both players were placed in the same half of the draw on Thursday.
Djokovic is chasing a record 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles title in the absence of the injured Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard, 14-time winner in Paris, will miss the May 28-June 11 event
The third-seeded Serb, French Open champion in 2016 and 2021, meets 114th-ranked Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States in the first round in Paris – the first French Open since 1998 without Nadal or the retired Roger Federer.
Djokovic, who turned 36 on Monday, has been bothered by a recurrence of a right elbow injury which has disrupted his clay-court season. He failed to go beyond the last eight at any of the three events he played on clay this spring, losing his world No. 1 spot to Alcaraz.
He has also fallen behind Daniil Medvedev in the rankings after the Russian succeeded him as Italian Open champion
However, tennis great John McEnroe believes Djokovic is still the favourite at Roland Garros.
“It’s his quest to be the best ever and win the most Majors, right now it looks like he’s the only guy left who could break more records,” he said on Eurosport.
“He’s tied with Rafa so this is an opening. Novak, he’s always looking for some inspiration, some fuel, and he’s got some now. He’s got a great chance.”
US Open champion Alcaraz and Medvedev both start their campaigns against a qualifier or lucky loser. Alcaraz is seeking to win his maiden French Open title and could play 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.
Medvedev is in the lower part of the draw and could face either 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud or Norway’s Holger Rune.
In the women’s draw, reigning champion Iga Swiatek begins her title defence against Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, the world No. 67 who was beaten by the Pole in the third round of the Australian Open earlier in January.
Iga Swiatek begins her campaign against Cristina Bucsa, and could meet Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina along the way.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
The top-ranked Swiatek, bidding to become the first back-to-back women’s champion at the French Open in 16 years, is coming off a thigh injury which forced her to retire in Rome.
She is seeded to meet 2022 runner-up Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and could face Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, last week’s Italian Open winner,
“This is my favourite tournament. I always get this extra motivation to practise harder here. I’m really excited to be here,” said Swiatek, who was present during the draw ceremony.
Tennis great Martina Navratilova is rooting for her. “It all hinges on her health,” she said on the WTA website. “From what I’m hearing, the injury is not that bad. If she’s 100 per cent healthy, then she’s the odds-on favourite. It’s Iga versus the field. If she’s not, then it’s wide open.”
Aryna Sabalenka, who won her maiden Slam in Melbourne, plays Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in her opening round. The Belarusian has never progressed beyond the third round in Paris despite making at least the semi-finals at the other three Slams.
Third seed Jessica Pegula has a tricky opening match against fellow American and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins, while Rybakina gets a qualifier or lucky loser first up.
Ons Jabeur, seeded seventh, is a potential quarter-final opponent for Rybakina, who defeated the Tunisian in the 2022 Wimbledon final. Jabeur also finished runner-up to Swiatek at the 2022 US Open. AFP, REUTERS
