RAFA NADAL AND NOVAK DJOKOVIC ON SAME SIDE OF 2017 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS DRAW

Written by: Staff on 26th May 2017

RAFA NADAL AND NOVAK DJOKOVIC ON SAME SIDE OF 2017 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS DRAW |

Nadal and Djokovic on same side of French Open draw

By Ricky Dimon

The French Open men’s singles draw ceremony was held on Friday afternoon at Roland Garros. For a third consecutive year, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic find themselves on the same side of the bracket. It is the fifth straight occasion when mathematically possible (when they haven’t been the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds) on which Nadal and Djokovic have landed in the same half.

Djokovic’s bottom quarter looks especially taxing, as it is also home to Madrid and Barcelona runner-up Dominic Thiem in addition to 2016 French Open quarterfinalist David Goffin. Thiem and Goffin are on course to collide in the fourth round, with the winner possibly to face Djokovic in the quarters.

Nadal, on the other hand, has an apparent friendly path to the semifinals. The fourth-seeded Spaniard could eventually encounter Jack Sock in the fourth round and either Milos Raonic, Grigor Dimitrov, or Pablo Carreno Busta in the last eight

A wide open top half of the draw includes 2016 runner-up Andy Murray and 2015 champ Stan Wawrinka. Both players have been struggling, so the door could be open for contenders such as recent Rome winner Alexander Zverev and 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro. Zverev must deal with an especially tough early-round draw that starts him against Fernando Verdasco and could also include Pablo Cuevas in the third round.

Zverev vs. Verdasco is not the only first-round showdown to watch.

Other marquee matchups right off the bat are Gael Monfils vs. Dustin Brown, Nick Kyrgios vs. Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jack Sock vs. Jiri Vesely, and Lucas Pouille vs. Julien Benneteau. From a Davis Cup atmosphere perspective, Goffin vs. Paul-Henri should not be missed.

If the top eight seeds hold to form, which is not likely, quarterfinal matchups would be Murray vs. Kei Nishikori, Wawrinka vs. Marin Cilic, Nadal vs. Raonic, and Djokovic vs. Thiem.