{"id":12954,"date":"2024-05-24T11:00:19","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T08:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=12954"},"modified":"2024-05-24T11:00:19","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T08:00:19","slug":"nadal-handed-tough-draw-against-zverev-at-french-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ch.jfdi.cc\/?p=12954","title":{"rendered":"Nadal handed tough draw against Zverev at French Open"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Rafa\u00a0Nadal\u00a0was handed a tough start to what is expected to be his farewell to the French Open as the record 14-times champion was drawn against fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the first round.<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic will begin his quest for a 25th Grand Slam crown against local hope Pierre-Hugues Herbert, while top-ranked Iga Swiatek kicks off her French Open title defence against a qualifier, after the draw was made on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Unseeded\u00a0Nadal, who missed his favourite Grand Slam tournament due to injury last year, has plummeted down the rankings during an extended spell on the sidelines and has said he expects to retire after this season.<\/p>\n

The pairing drew an audible gasp in the room and the two will meet for the first time since their 2022 semi-final clash at Roland Garros which\u00a0Nadal\u00a0won after Zverev suffered an injury and retired.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s coming a little early in the tournament surely,\u201d former world number one and tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said about the\u00a0Nadal-Zverev pairing. \u201cThis is good news for neither of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Should\u00a0Nadal\u00a0win the match, he could face 2021 US Open winner Daniil Medvedev in the quarter finals.<\/p>\n

There were cheers from the audience when Switzerland\u2019s Stan Wawrinka was drawn against fellow three-time grand slam winner, Briton Andy Murray.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a superb matchup,\u201d Mauresmo, who used to coach Murray, said about the match with Wawrinka.<\/p>\n

Djokovic has struggled in the first half of 2024 and is yet to win a title this year. The Serbian was knocked out of the Italian Open in the third round this month after suffering a freak head injury.<\/p>\n

The world number one, who is competing in this week\u2019s Geneva Open, will be looking to put that disappointment behind him and get his season back on track in Paris, where he could meet Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals in a rematch of last year\u2019s final.<\/p>\n

Two-times Grand Slam champion and last year\u2019s losing semi-finalist Carlos Alcaraz begins against a qualifier, while newly-crowned Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner faces American Christopher Eubanks.<\/p>\n

In the women\u2019s draw, defending champion and world number one Swiatek is in a hot streak of form after winning both the Madrid Open and Italian Open, and is favourite to claim her fourth title at Roland Garros.<\/p>\n

However, the Pole could face a number of tough opponents in her quarter-final, including four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, Miami Open winner Danielle Collins and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis season has been has been really great already for me,\u201d Swiatek said. \u201cI know that I can adjust to any kind of conditions even in a short amount of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

World number two Aryna Sabalenka meets Erika Andreeva while Elena Rybakina, who reached the semi-finals in Madrid but was forced to pull out of Rome due to illness, takes on Belgium\u2019s Greet Minnen.<\/p>\n

U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff, who reached the final of the French Open in 2022, will play a qualifier in the first round and could face Ons Jabeur in a mouth-watering quarter-final clash.<\/p>\n

Mauresmo said Swiatek was the favourite in the women\u2019s draw, while there was a lot of uncertainty in the men\u2019s singles. \u201cEverything is open,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rafa Nadal was drawn against fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the first round of the French Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[11063,2829,3163,438,2508,1726,6863,7813,2183,5732,8106,1167,9605,4407,7687,572,9595,6316,148,8557,2446,2265,2651,8555,1080,3331,1501,6730,6749,1318,8171,4388,9856,9192,8977,618,3461,5265,380,6305,1100,18],"class_list":["post-12954","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-alexander-zverev","tag-andy-murray","tag-aryna-sabalenka","tag-australian-open","tag-belgium","tag-carlos-alcaraz","tag-clash","tag-coach","tag-coco-gauff","tag-conditions","tag-disappointment","tag-draw","tag-french-open","tag-hope","tag-hot","tag-injury","tag-italian-open","tag-jannik-sinner","tag-local","tag-madrid-open","tag-match","tag-medvedev","tag-miami-open","tag-nadal","tag-naomi-osaka","tag-news","tag-novak-djokovic","tag-paris","tag-rafa-nadal","tag-rankings","tag-record","tag-rome","tag-season","tag-semi-final","tag-switzerland","tag-top","tag-tournament","tag-uncertainty","tag-us","tag-who","tag-women","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\nNadal handed tough draw against Zverev at French Open<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"tennis match. 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