Nadal Faces Zverev in Blockbuster First Round at French Open

Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time champion, was paired with fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the opening round, setting him up for what is likely to be his final French Open match.

Following the draw on Thursday, top-ranked Iga Swiatek will begin her defense of the French Open championship against a qualifier, while Novak Djokovic will start his quest for a 25th grand slam title against local favorite Pierre-Hugues Herbert.

After an extended absence from the game last year, unseeded Rafael Nadal had an injury that caused him to miss his favorite grand slam tournament. Since then, he has fallen down the rankings and stated he will to retire after this season.

There was a loud gasp in the room upon learning of the pairing. This will be their first meeting since Nadal defeated Zverev in their 2022 Roland Garros semifinal match after the Russian retired due to injury.

If Nadal prevails, he might play Daniil Medvedev, the winner of the US Open in 2021, in the quarterfinals.

When Swiss player Stan Wawrinka was paired against fellow three-time grand slam champion Andy Murray, the crowd cheered.

Djokovic has not yet won a trophy in 2024 and has had difficulty in the first half of the year. This month, in the third round of the Italian Open, the Serbian was eliminated due to an unusual head injury.

On Wednesday, Djokovic celebrated turning 37 years old by defeating German Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3 in the Geneva Open second round, earning him his 1,100th victory at the tour level.

The Serb is only the third person in the Open era to reach this feat, after Roger Federer with 1251 and Jimmy Connors with 1274 victories.

Following the presentation of his birthday cake by the organizers, Djokovic remarked, "The birthday was the key to win; it probably wouldn't be the same if I didn't win."

It's pleasant to be participating in this competition for the first time and to have my family join me for support. Both on and off the court, I'm spending some quality time with myself.

The top seed in the world will be hoping to move past that setback and resume his winning ways in Paris, where he may face Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, a rematch of the championship match from the previous year.

Carlos Alcaraz, the two-time major Slam champion and last year's losing semifinalist, starts against a qualifier, while Jannik Sinner, the recent winner of the Australian Open, takes on Christopher Eubanks, an American.

With victories in the Madrid Open and the Italian Open, world No. 1 and reigning champion Swiatek is riding high in the women's draw and is favored to capture her fourth title at Roland Garros.

However, the four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka, Miami Open victor Danielle Collins, and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova could be among the formidable opponents the Pole faces in her quarterfinal match.

According to Swiatek, "this season has been really great already." "I am confident in my ability to quickly adapt to any kind of situation."

World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka will face Erika Andreeva, and Belgium's Greet Minnen will face Elena Rybakina, who advanced to the Madrid semifinals but had to withdraw from Rome due to illness.

Coco Gauff, the 2022 French Open finalist and winner of the US Open, will play a qualifier in the opening round and might meet Ons Jabeur in an exciting quarterfinal match.

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