There will be no revenge in the final at Roland Garros this year. A year after his thirteenth coronation in Paris, against Novak Djokovic this time, Rafael Nadal and the Serbian player find themselves in the same half of the Roland-Garros table, according to the draw made on Thursday May 27.
This configuration was made possible by the fact that Nadal, third player in the world, was not automatically in the lower part of the table while Djokovic, world number one and seeded number one, was necessarily at the top. Roger Federer, who has only played three games in a year, is seeded number eight and therefore joins them in this part of the table.
The soon-to-40-year-old Swiss player, who is attempting a return to the highest level after double right knee surgery in 2020, will face a player from qualifying in the first round. If he climbed to the quarter-finals, he could compete against Djokovic.
In the second half of the table, the theoretical semi-final puts Medvedev, who has not won a single match at Roland Garros in four appearances so far, and the Austrian Dominic Thiem, double finalist, face to face. on Parisian clay in 2018 and 2019, but looking for his best form.
“For now, we have decided to follow the ATP ranking, which is also defensible. Medvedev didn’t steal his ranking today, he earned it by the sweat of his brow on the pitch. The picture may seem unbalanced on paper, however, if Rafa wants to win a fourteenth title here, he will have to beat Novak. Whether he beats him in the final or in the semi … “, says tournament director Guy Forget. Otherwise, “It would be an insult to Medvedev to tell him that he is out of place. The ranking is the average value of a player over a year. Some boys deserve to be there. That’s how it is, we made this bet and we can’t say that it is an injustice either “, he concluded.
Have these three players in the same game, “It is also a reflection of the start of the season”, insisted the president of the French Tennis Federation, organizer of the tournament, Gilles Moretton. “The cards are redistributed, he added. We know there are favorites, we know them, but now there may be surprises in this tournament. “
Serena Williams in pursuit of a record
In the women’s draw, world number one Ashleigh Barty, winner in 2019, and defending champion Iga Swiatek are in the same half and could therefore face each other in the semi-finals.
Before reaching the last four, Swiatek could find on his way the 2016 winner Garbine Muguruza in the round of 16, then her opponent of the 2020 final Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinals. For his part, Barty could face Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
In the other table, the second semi-final could pit Serena Williams (victorious three times) against Naomi Osaka (who has never done better than a third round).
Serena Williams, still in search of a twenty-fourth major title – a record – could fall on the solid Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals, a stage where Osaka could find the returning Bianca Andreescu.