By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, May 25, 2023
King of clay Rafa Nadal famously stated struggling is a prerequisite for Roland Garros success.
In Nadal’s absence from Paris, Novak Djokovic is taking a look at a tough highway to historical past.
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Launching his quest for a males’s file twenty third Grand Slam championship in Paris, Djokovic faces a probably painful path to a seventh Paris last.
The 2023 Roland Garros draw was carried out in Paris right now and pits World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Djokovic in the identical high half of a loaded draw.
That means if seeds maintain true to kind, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion Djokovic must face US Open champion Alcaraz within the semifinals.
The high half of the sphere contains the one two former French Open males’s champions within the discipline—Djokovic and 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka—in addition to 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, reigning Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti, who owns a clay-court win over Djokovic this season, Cameron Norrie, who owns a clay-court finals win over Alcaraz, Karen Khachanov and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The @RolandGarros Men’s Top Half Draw: pic.twitter.com/Xo8GUs7TNw
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The @RolandGarros Men’s Bottom Half Draw: pic.twitter.com/yERucmBO8j
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It was a bittersweet draw day as organizers, media and followers confronted a draw with out 14-time champion Nadal, who has performed Paris yearly since his 2005 debut when he defeated Argentinean left-hander Mariano Puerta to seize his maiden main.
“[Nadal’s withdrawal] was greeted with sadness. I thought a lot about him in the first place, we know that his story is intimately linked to this tournament,” event director Amelie Mauresmo instructed the media in Paris after the draw. “It was sad, but today it is [the draw] so we must also say that it will open opportunities to other players.
“Personally I believe that Carlos Alcaraz arrives very ready. Novak Djokovic, even when he hasn’t received many matches recently, continues to be harmful, particularly in Grand Slams.”
World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev anchors the underside half of the draw.
Fresh off his run to his first profession clay-court crown in Rome, Medvedev ought to be happy along with his draw.
The 2021 US Open champion opens with a qualifier along with his first potential seeded opponent No. 27-seeded Yoshihito Nishioka.
Rome runner-up Holger Rune, who has reached three finals in 4 clay-court tournaments this season, 2022 Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud, No. 8-seeded Jannik Sinner, Olympic gold-medal champion Alexander Zverev, Cincinnati champion Borna Coric, No. 9-seeded Taylor Fritz and Francisco Cerundolo are among the many threats within the backside half of the draw.
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