Emmanuel LANGELLIER, Media365: published on Monday April 15, 2024 at 10:19 p.m.
Some renowned players will not be there this year at Roland-Garros or are not yet sure of being there. Find out who it is.
The 2024 edition of Roland-Garros will be held in Paris from May 26 to June 9. Winner for the 3rd time last year after his coronations in 2016 and 2021, Novak Djokovic will put his title back on the line on the clay courts of Porte d’Auteuil. Not yet in great shape in 2024, the world number 1, semi-finalist at the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo, will face serious competition from Jannik Sinner, the best player at the start of the season, Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud, who is coming to beat him in the Principality, or Stefanos Tsitsipas, winner on Sunday on the Rock for the 3rd time in his career.
Gasquet invited? Murray injured
If the happy spectators who will mass in the stands of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year (after the Australian Open, won by Sinner) will be able to watch the performances of the best current players on the planet, they will not see certain big names in the game. This Monday’s ATP ranking determines the elements who will be able to compete on the clay courts, those who are part of the first 104, and those who will have to fight to win the right to enter the final table. They will have to compete in the qualifying tournament or benefit from an invitation (wild card in English) to work in Paris. In mid-April, this is the case for example of Richard Gasquet, currently 112th in the world at 37 years old. But in his case, we can strongly imagine that he will be invited by the organizers when he could play his final Roland-Garros.
Will Nadal use his protected ranking?
The French Alexandre Muller, Harold Mayot, Grégoire Barrère, Terence Atmane, or even Benoit Paire are not yet directly qualified and certain to make the tournament. Like renowned players who have fallen back in the hierarchy in recent times, such as Dominic Thiem (105th), Denis Shapovalov (121st) or Diego Schwartzman (142nd), who will have to play the qualifying tournament to hope to win the precious sesame. There are also those who will use their protected ranking to be able to enter directly into the 128-player draw. Like probably the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, currently 644th, if he is fit. Or perhaps the Belgian David Goffin (100th), the Frenchman Luca Van Assche (99th) and the Italian Matteo Berrettini (98th). Finalist in 2016, Andy Murray will be absent, that’s for sure. The Scot injured his left ankle in Miami and will be sidelined for a long period.
2024-04-15 20:19:00
#famous #players #absent #year
