World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz will begin his French Open title defence with a first-round clash against Japan’s Kei Nishikori ,as per the draw held at Roland Garros, Paris, on Thursday.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will take on Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in his tournament opener.
The 23-year-old Sinner, who returned from a three-month doping ban at the Italian Open, could be up against wildcard Richard Gasquet, another Frenchman, in the second round. The 38-year-old Gasquet will retire from professional tennis after his 22nd and final appearance at the clay Major.
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Sinner, last year’s runner-up Alexander Zverev and three-time champion Novak Djokovic are in the same half of the draw. Zverev and Djokovic could meet each other in the quarterfinals with the winner potentially taking on Sinner for a place in the summit clash.
The projected quarterfinals are – Sinner vs fifth-seeded Brit Jack Draper, Zverev vs Novak Djokovic, eighth-seeded Italian Lorenzo Musetti vs fourth-seeded American Taylor Fritz, and Alcaraz vs two-time runner-up Casper Ruud.
First-round matches to watch out:-
- [2] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP] vs Kei Nishikori (JPN)
- [3] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs Learner Tien (USA)
- [6] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Mackenzie McDonald (USA)
- [13] Ben Shelton (USA) vs Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)
- [14] Arthur Fils (FRA) vs Nicolas Jarry (CHI)
- [30] Hubert Hurkacz (POL) vs Joao Fonseca (BRA)
- [11] Daniil Medvedev vs Cameron Norrie (GBR)
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com