Tennis

Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic In Opposite Halves Of Italian Open Draw, Could Meet In Final

Spanish tennis titan Rafael Nadal, a record 10-time champion at Italian Open, could meet reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals should they both get that far. Newly crowned Madrid Open winner Andrey Rublev is a potential semi-final opponent

File photo of tennis legends Novak Djokovic (left) and Rafael Nadal.
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Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet in the Italian Open final after being positioned on opposite sides of the draw. (More Tennis News)

Nadal, a record 10-time champion at the tournament, could meet reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals should they both get that far, while newly crowned Madrid Open winner, Andrey Rublev, would be a potential semi-final opponent.

In the top half of the draw, Djokovic will take on either Roman Safiullin or a qualifier in his first competitive appearance since Monte Carlo.

The Serbian, who is just two wins away from his 1100th tour-level career victory, is seeded to face Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals. Alexander Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov are also on their side of the draw.

Meanwhile, top seed Iga Swiatek has been drawn in the opposite half of the draw to Elena Rybakina, the reigning Italian Open champion.

Swiatek is projected to face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals for the second consecutive WTA 1000 event should they both progress.

Rybakina is due to meet second seed Aryna Sabalenka at the same stage, having lost to the Belarusian at last week’s Madrid Open semi-finals.