Paris (AFP)
VIP Club at Roland-Garros: Rafael Nadal, in search of a fourteenth historic coronation in Paris, world No.1 Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were all placed in the same half of the table by the draw made on Thursday .
A first in a Grand Slam.
So much so that, if the logic of the classification is respected, the first two, who faced each other in the final of the 2020 edition last fall, are this time promised a duel in the half.
Djokovic and Federer risk meeting each other in the quarter-finals.
This configuration was made possible by the fact that Nadal demoted to third place in the world and was therefore not automatically placed at the bottom of the table, while Djokovic, seeded N.1, was necessarily placed at the top.
Federer, who has only played three matches for sixteen months, is seeded N.8.
It will start against a player from qualifying.
To summarize the imbalance between the two parts of the table, we can retain two figures: the first half alone concentrates 59 Grand Slam trophies - 20 for Federer as for Nadal, 18 for Djokovic and one for Marin Cilic -, the second a only that of Dominic Thiem (US Open 2020).
- Lucky Tsitsipas in the draw -
And if it is necessary to designate a lucky one, we will choose Stefanos Tsitsipas, recent winner of his first Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo and who came close to beating Nadal in Barcelona, then Djokovic in Rome during the tour on clay.
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The 22-year-old Greek, world No. 5 but the most consistent player since the start of the season, is a favorite in the low end.
Certainly, it is Daniil Medvedev (N.2) and Dominic Thiem (N.4) who are the two best seeds.
But the Russian, allergic to ocher, has not won a single match in four participations at Roland Garros so far.
And the Austrian, double finalist on the Parisian clay (2018 and 2019), has been looking for his best form, especially mental, for several months.
Still big favorite even at the dawn of his 35 years, Nadal was not however spoiled by fate.
He could have to successively face the Italian nugget Jannik Sinner (19th) in the round of 16, the Russians Andrey Rublev (7th) or Aslan Karatsev (26th) in the quarters, then Djokovic in the last four.
Previously, "Rafa" will launch his fortnight against Australian batter Alexei Popyrin (62nd) and a meeting with a Frenchman, either Richard Gasquet or Hugo Gaston, the blue hero of the 2020 edition, awaits him in the second round.
"I hope I can fight for something big," Nadal told AFP shortly after arriving in Paris, where he will have a golden opportunity to overtake Federer in Grand Slam trophy count, with a 21st coronation .
- Barty-Swiatek in the semi-finals?
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The road seems clearer for Djokovic, who is chasing a 19th major title.
He will start against the American Tennys Sandgren (66th), then could find Lucas Pouille or the Argentinian Pablo Cuevas (91st) in the next round, and the Belgian David Goffin (13th) or the young Italian Lorenzo Musetti (76th) in the eighth of final.
Federer, soon to be 40, who is attempting a return to the highest level after double surgery on his right knee in 2020 and will know his first opponent after qualifying, has only played three games since returning to the circuit in early March : two in Doha, and only one on ocher in Geneva in mid-May (lost against Andujar).
But it is on Wimbledon that he has his eyes riveted.
On the French side, only two, Gaël Monfils and Ugo Humbert (opposed respectively to Ramos and Berankis) are protected by the status of seed.
Jérémy Chardy thus inherited from Tsitsipas, Pierre-Hugues Herbert from Sinner and Benoît Paire from Casper Ruud (16th).
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will start against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (60th).
In the women's table, it is a possible semi-final between the last two winners, the world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty (2019) and the Polish Iga Swiatek (2020), that fate has reserved.
The second could pit Serena Williams, still chasing a 24th major title at 39, against Naomi Osaka, provided the two manage to feel comfortable on ocher.
© 2021 AFP