A fantastic Roland Garros is coming. In both paintings, it is true. Although what can be projected in the search for the Musketeers Cup is of a higher expectation. It is that, in the previous one, it is about two tennis legends (Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal) who try to perpetuate themselves at the top against a group of young players who have the credentials to unseat them definitively. Until recently in this batch were Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas (in the Parisian brick dust, of the three it is the Greek who has the best present), but they were joined Carlos Alcaraz.
And precisely, before the draw for the second Grand Slam of the season, it was all about knowing where Djokovic, Nadal and Alcaraz would fall in the draw. Because due to their pre-classification, all three could appear in the same part to eliminate each other before the final. And so it happened.
Unbelievable but real, the number 1 in the world and the 13 times champion in Bois de Boulogne they could meet in the quarterfinalsthough Djokovic and, crucially, Nadal – how much his chronic injury will bother him is anyone’s guess – will not have an easy time heading into that round. Especially the Majorcan.
In the second quadrant of the draw appears Alcaraz, who after winning in Madrid skipped Rome and will arrive fresh in Paris with two weeks off. The Murcian could have complications in the second and third rounds against the Spaniard Ramos Vinolas or the Australian Kokkinakis and the american Repeat, respectively. But if he clears both hurdles, would he get to play Zverev before the semi-final against the winner of Djokovic-Nadal?
Below, the one who surely rejoiced the most with the draw is Tsitsipas although his path will not be easy since in the round of 16 he could go against the Canadian Shapovalov or the Australian De Minaur. Of course, the Norwegian would come later Ruud -He comes from being a semi-finalist in Rome and today he will play in the Geneva semi-finals- before a semi-final against Medvedev?
The Russian cannot find a way around the slow courts. his is a physical and mental problem on that surface, as he himself admitted. That is why he will have to be attentive from the outset if he intends to reach the decisive stages of the tournament. And who will be his debut rival? Nothing less than the lefty Facundo Bagnis.
The rest of the Argentines, meanwhile, will have different types of opponents. At the top of the box, Federico Coria will face Slovakian Alex Molcan, Diego Schwartzman against a player from the classification and Sebastian Baez against Serbian Dusan Lajovic; and at the bottom, Francisco Cerundolo with the British Daniel Evans, Federico Delbonis with Frenchman Adrian Mannarino and Thomas Etcheverry with Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic.
Among the women there will be no compatriots – the current status of Nadia Podoroska is a complete unknown and Paula Ormaechea was the only one who played the preliminary phase and lost in her debut – and there Iga Swiatek, number 1 in the world, appears as the main candidate for the title after getting five consecutive titles so far this season.
The Pole will have a couple of simple rounds with the level she showed in her last presentations but in the third she could face the Romanian Halep in a match that would be of a huge category for that instance considering that both were champions of Roland Garros and that the Romanian was even number 1 in the world. From there the even more complicated rivals would begin to arrive. Although there is still a long way to go…
