The French Open draw ceremony was held on Friday and it was not a kind to Rafael Nadal as Roger Federer had been the day before, when he withdrew due to a back injury. Federer’s exit gave Nadal the No. 4 seed, but the Spaniard still landed in the same half as Novak Djokovic.
In fact, Nadal’s entire trek through the draw could be treacherous–at least starting in the third round. After presumably rolling over Sam Groth and either Facundo Bagnis or a qualifier, the nine-time Roland Garros champion may run into well-documented rival Fabio Fognini. Dominic Thiem, the guy pretty much no one wants to face on the red clay of Paris, potentially awaits in the fourth round.
On the bright side for Nadal, he avoided the toughest of the 5-8 seeds–Kei Nishikori. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would be Nadal’s quarterfinal opponent if the seeds hold to form, but other contenders included David Goffin, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Joao Sousa.
Nishikori is on a collision course for the last eight with No. 2 seed Andy Murray at the bottom of the bracket. But the Japanese star cannot be penciled in for that showdown just yet because his half of that section is absolutely loaded. Nishikori could meet Andrey Kuznetsov in the second round and the winner of an opening contest between Alexandr Dolgopolov and Fernando Verdasco in the last 32. Familiar foe Nick Kyrgios is a possible fourth-round adversary for Nishikori.
Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka, who faced each other in the 2015 final, may have been the big winners at the draw-revealing festivities. The world No. 1 will not go up against anyone tougher than either Federico Delbonis or Pablo Carreno Busta prior to the fourth round. Additionally, the 5-8 seed in Djokovic’s quarter is a slumping Tomas Berdych. As for Wawrinka, his section includes the likes of Milos Raonic, Marin Cilic, Gilles Simon, Jack Sock, and Viktor Troicki. At the moment, none of those seeds looks like a particularly scary proposition.
Full draw at the tournament website
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An ideal scenario will be a repeat of last years final, with Nole overcoming Stan in the final!
But both have to climb the long ropes to get there first.
So let’s just wait and see what unfolds over the next fortnight.
Ideal for whom?
Rafa’s going to win RG, I think. Nadal-Djokoviv will happen and it will be a war.
Tough draw for Rafa but he will handle.
Groth will lose to Rafa in 3 sets. Not the type of player I would worry about too much.
Novak does not have a tough drwa but you never know… he can still have tough matches. There are always surprises in slams….Novak’s not playing too well and he looks a little burned out.
But just saw the draws in detail. Novak’s quarter is a joke lol
1 thing that clearly stood out during the clay swing was Nole’s return games. Nole’s returns and return games were pretty awful by his standards.
But, if people are clutching on his form due to that, they all could be in for some real surprise.
He looks a little jaded and his temperament on the court has reflected that. I am not counting on him dropping his level though. I am counting on Nadal to play like the Nadal we know at RG.
vr,
I am with you! Novak got some rest and a chance to hit the reset button. I am not counting on him to not play well. He certainly has a great draw. He could not have asked for a better draw.
As far as the pressure, it could go either way. He could feel the pressure and let it get to him. Or he could rise to the occasion and be inspired to achieve the goal of winning RG.
Tignor has picked Rafa to win. That’s interesting. Nole will have a tremendous amount of pressure if he plays nadal in the semis. That cud also be a factor.
And Djoker’s fans are beside themselves with Tignor’s prediction. ?
How many of you want Nadal djoko to happen or how many of you prefer djoko gets taken out before
That question has to be a joke! Of course I would love to see Novak taken out before the semis! Their matches are incredibly physical and can go to four or five sets for hours. So I would definitely want Rafa to catch a break!
If Novak should get taken out, then Rafa will win. But I do not see Novak losing before the semis. Not with his draw.
Not a joke. Some people may say for rafa to win the title let him get through Novak so that victory can be cherished more
Yes, but it could also take so much out of Rafa that he doesn’t have enough left for the final. Remember 2013? That epic semifinal that went five sets? I remember Rafa pulling out of Halle the next day. He got lucky in the final playing Ferrer. He had an easy final.
Everyone has ti get there first. But I think Rafa would cherish the title just as much if he played someone other than Novak in the semis.
Nadal djoko if it happens may go to 4 or 5 too. Minimum 3.5 hours
All the more reason to not want Rafa to meet Novak in the semis! But I don’t think there is much chance of that.
I get nervous even talking about the semis when the tournament has barely begun!
Abhirf..I think what stands out in your posts is you somehow don’t want rafa to win this. 🙂
Yup. Nole and Stan being my favorites among the remaining guys in the draw, that is a no brainer for me 😉
Then your post above is ideal scenario for you 🙂
How do you guys rate Nadal djoko in 2013 coming into RG vs this year
How and where do they stand
Before Rome I would have rated Novak better than 2013. Now I am not as sure. There were some cracks showing in his temperament and game in Rome.
As for Rafa, he is not at his 2013 level. He is getting closer to his best. But I believe that c he was at his best then he would have converted at least one of those five set points in his match against Novak in Rome. That match was winnable but Rafa wasn’t able to come up with his best shots when he needed them. He has another gear that enabled him to play his best tennis in that fifth set at the 2013 RG. That is what he needs now.
The good news is that Rafa can play himself into his best form. He has a tougher draw than novak and that could help get him to where he will need to be in the semis against Novak.
If Nole wins the semifinal, the title is his and his non-calendar grand slam will be complete.
The official coronation will follow.
That’s interesting because Sean Randall at tennis-x has picked Murray and Novak to get to the final with Murray winning.
The tennis channel will show last year’s RG men’s final at 4:00 pm eastern time.
Novak will be trolled for life if Murray wins RG before him and yes, Murray can win this if he meets Novak. Rafa will defeat Murray for sure but Murray will have a decent shot against Novak esp if Novak has a tough one against Rafa.
Yes, that’s a good point about Novak never living it down should Murray win RG before him.
It’s a long way off from the semis. I am going to try my best to take it one match at a time.
I think both are slightly worse off.