By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday May 19, 2022
The men’s singles draw at Roland-Garros has been released and Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have been placed in the same quarter. That’s not all you need to know, however.
Read on for five takeaways from the RG2022 draw.
Nadal, Djokovic – another quarterfinal?
One of the greatest rivalries in the history of men’s tennis is set to resume in the quarterfinals at Roland-Garros. Defending champion Djokovic and 13-time champ Nadal have been drawn into the same quarter in Paris – a pickle made possible by the fact that Stefanos Tsitsipas leapfrogged Nadal to reach No.4 in this week’s rankings, and was therefore seeded No.4 in this year’s draw (more on Tsitsipas down the page).
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What it means is that Nadal and Djokovic could meet for the 59th time, and the 10th time in Paris. And if they meet it will be their third quarterfinal at Roland-Garros (Nadal won in 2006, by retirement, Djokovic won in 2015 in straight sets).
What has yet to be determined is what type of form Nadal will muster up in Paris. He’s been struggling with a left foot injury and his practice sessions have not revealed much about his current form. Time will tell.
Meanwhile, Djokovic has found his form as of last week, the Serb winning Rome with an impressive performance to boost his spirits – and his confidence.
Djokovic is certainly the favorite to come out, but if the pair do eventually meet, it will mean that Nadal has bucked the negative injury news and found a way to get his game on track.
Alcaraz also in the top half
Isn’t it so typical that the three favorites to win the title are all in the top half? Carlos Alcaraz, the whirling dervish from Spain that has been rocking most everybody’s world in the last three months, has also been drawn into the top half. It’s going to be interesting to see if the Spaniard can parlay his scintillating form into a deep run in Paris. He has never been beyond the third round at Roland-Garros and is playing in just his fifth main draw at a major.
And yet Alcaraz is poised to face either Djokovic or Nadal in the semis, which would be an incredible spectacle for the sport, especially after Alcaraz became the first player in history to defeat both Nadal and Alcaraz at the same clay court event earlier this month at Madrid.
Alcaraz, Djokovic and Nadal potential paths to the final if seeds hold
Djokovic’s path
R1 - Nishioka
R2 Coric/Coria
R3 Brooksby
R16 Schwartzman
QF Nadal
SF Alcaraz
F Medvedev
Nadal’s path
R1 Thompson
R2 Wawrinka or Moutet
R3 Van de Zandschulp
R16 Auger-Aliassime
QF Djokovic
SF Alcaraz
F Medvedev
Alcaraz's path
R1 qualifier
R2 Kokkinakis or Ramos-Vinolas
R3 Korda
R16 Norrie
QF Zverev
SF Nadal/Djokovic
F Medvedev
Tsitsipas: tough first-rounder but great half
If you’re Stefanos Tsitsipas, do you trade a tricky first-round opponent like Lorenzo Musetti for being in the bottom half, far away from Djokovic, Nadal and Alcaraz? We think yes, and that’s why we believe Tsitsipas has a great draw for his title aspirations at Roland-Garros.
If he can get by the talented Musetti, whom he has defeated twice in two previous meetings, Tsitsipas could be off to the races in a lukewarm half of the draw that is anchored by Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
Sinner, a winner
Jannik Sinner is also a winner in this draw. The Italian, still only 20 and 7-2 lifetime at Roland-Garros, is nestled in Medvedev and Rublev’s quarter, with a good chance to continue the fine trend he has developed in his first two appearances on the terre battue at Paris.
Sinner reached the quarterfinals on his debut, becoming the youngest man to achieve the feat since Nadal in 2005. Last year he made it to the round of 16 before falling to Nadal again.
To put it another way: 13-time champion Nadal is the only man who has ever defeated Sinner at Roland Garros. We get that it’s a small sample size, but we also believe that Sinner is set up well for a deep run.
His chances have definitely risen with this draw.