Having fallen to… 276th place in the world, Rafael Nadal does not benefit from a special status which would have allowed him to be seeded in Paris for his very probable last appearance. Gonzalo Fuentes / REUTERS
While the first strokes of the big tables of the 2024 edition of the French Open are given on Sunday, the Parisian Grand Slam will experience a first pivotal moment, Thursday at 2 p.m., with the draw for the men’s and women’s tournaments in the prestigious setting of the Orangerie des Serres d’Auteuil. And this, before the end of qualifying scheduled for Friday.
Heavy entry for Nadal?
The man with 14 Porte d’Auteuil crowns, who trained on Wednesday with Stan Wawrinka, will be the center of all attention this Thursday afternoon. « I would be seeded, I would not be calm about playing Rafa in the 1st round. It’s not funny. Even this Nadal» , confided to us a few days ago the former French number one Jo-Wilfired Tsonga, consultant Prime Video for the fortnight. Falling back to… 276th place in the world, the king of Roland-Garros benefited from his protected ranking to enter the big picture, but not from a special status which would have allowed him to be seeded in Paris for his very likely last appearance. The master of the place could therefore face a top seed from the outset. And if many nostalgic people are already dreaming of seeing June 9 in the final, a last earthly dance between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, 46 Grand Slam crowns between them, the two champions could also meet in the first round if the draw is reveals facetiously. One certainty: Carlos Alcaraz, the worthy heir of “Rafa” would moderately appreciate falling on the Mallorcan icon in the first round. But he is not the only one…
The big names present
Due to the uncertainties linked to their injuries (Alcaraz, Sinner) or their uncertain form (Nadal, Djokovic), the presumed favorites hope for a smooth entry into the second Major of the season. History of gaining strength serenely. Long uncertain, due to discomfort in his right hip, Jannik Sinner, the strong man at the start of the season, winner in particular of the Australian Open, should respond since he carried out his first training on Wednesday on the runs Philippe Chatrier. Carlos Alcaraz, hampered since the start of the clay court tour by pain in his right forearm, also took his first steps on the Parisian ocher on Wednesday. Before joining Paris, defending champion Novak Djokovic took a detour to the ATP 50 in Geneva to find rhythm and confidence. The man with 24 Grand Slam titles, 37 years old as of Wednesday, has only four tournaments in his legs since the start of the season. If for the men, the tournament seems very open, the scenario is apparently clearer in the women’s event. Double title holder, titled in Madrid and Rome, the Polish Iga Swiatek has the status of a woman to be defeated during this fortnight. The world number one will learn her theoretical journey this Thursday. His potential adversaries may tremble.
Four seeded Blues
Winner last week of the Bordeaux challenger (second division pro tournament), Arthur Fils, thirty-fourth player in the world, has earned his place among the 32 seeds. He joins Ugo Humbert and Adrian Mannarino. Among the Blues, only Caroline Garcia, 23rd in the world, will also be somewhat protected in the draw. While waiting for the end of qualifying on Friday, there are ten of them in the men’s draw who have entered the main draw directly: Ugo Humbert, Adrian Mannarino, Arthur Fils, Gaël Monfils, Arthur Cazaux, Arthur Rinderknech, Constant Lestienne, Corentin Moutet, Hugo Gaston and Luca Van Assche. Alexandre Muller, Richard Gasquet, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Harold Mayot, Terence Atmane and Pierre-Hugues Herbert for their part benefited from an invitation.
In the women’s draw, there are only five to have directly gleaned their ticket: Caroline Garcia, Clara Burel, Diane Parry, Océane Dodin and Varvara Gracheva. Alizé Cornet (for her last Roland-Garros), Chloé Paquet, Fiona Ferro, Jessika Ponchet, Elsa Jacquemot and Kristina Mladenovic, benefit from an invitation. If French tennis does not dream too high on the eve of the big clay court meeting, the objective will already be to do better than during the last three editions where none of our representatives, men and women alike, had not reached the round of 16.
