It is official. Rafael Nadal will compete in the French Open 2024 men's singles main draw, unseeded. The clay court giant faces a challenging first-round match at Roland Garros against German fourth seed Alexander Zverev on Sunday (May 26). Another clash of two stalwarts is in store first up, as British veteran Andy Murray will be up against former world number 3 Stanislas Wawrinka. (Full Coverage | More Tennis News)
The draw ceremony was held in Paris on Thursday (May 23) and officiated by tournament director Amelie Mauresmo, referee Remy Azemar and French Tennis Federation president Gilles Moretton. Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Iga Swiatek - both of whom are defending champions in the men's and women's singles events respectively - will expectedly start with relatively easy first-round matches.
But all eyes were transfixed on Nadal's update. Though he arrived in Paris amid much fanfare and has been practising, the Spanish tennis legend had not confirmed participation at his pet event. The draw does feature Nadal, a record 14-time French Open champion, which gives his fans solace as they will be able to witness the southpaw in action at least one more time, before he decides to retire.
But the joy might well be short-lived, as Zverev, affectionately known as Sascha in the tennis firmament is a tricky opponent and could push Nadal to the limit. The 37-year-old Spaniard has had two seasons of off-and-on action due to recurring injuries, which includes a surgically repaired hip that forced him to miss Roland Garros last year.
The Nadal vs Zverev clash is a rematch of their 2022 semi-final at the same venue, that ended when Zverev tore ligaments in his right ankle.
Meanwhile, India's singles spearhead Sumit Nagal will face the 18th-ranked Karen Khachanov in his opening encounter. Nagal is the first Indian man in five years to make the cut for the Roland Garros singles main draw. Prajnesh Gunneswaran was the last men's singles competitor from the country at the 2019 French Open. A career-high ATP ranking of 80 has led to Nagal's qualification, and it has been forged by a series of good results this year.
Numero uno Djokovic will face world number 143 Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the round of 128, and second seed Jannik Sinner will meet American world no. 43 Christopher Eubanks. Third seed Carlos Alcaraz will take on a qualifier or lucky loser. In women's singles, Swiatek will face a qualifier or lucky loser first up, while second seed Aryna Sabalenka will lock horns with Erika Andreeva.
Djokovic could come up against seventh seed Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals, while Alcaraz could face sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev in the last-eight stage.
