Rafael Nadal made it halfway to the calendar-year Grand Slam the hard way, going through Felix Auger-Alassime, Alexander Zverev, and Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros before beating Casper Ruud in the final.
If Nadal wants to put himself within a U.S. Open title of the CYGS, he will once again have to navigate a rough draw–this time at Wimbledon. With Australian Open and French Open titles already in tow, the 22-time major champion rolls into the All-England Club with a great chance to keep his 2022 run going in a somewhat depleted field without any Russian players. But it certainly won’t be easy. His road through SW19 could include Marin Cilic in the fourth round, Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals, Matteo Berrettini in the semis, and Djokovic in the final.
Nadal won’t even be looking ahead to the second week, as capable grass-court players are littered throughout his quarter of the bracket from top to bottom. Sam Querrey is a potential second-round foe; Lorenzo Sonego and Denis Kudla are possible third-round opponents. Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime has to go up against Eastbourne finalist Maxime Cressy right off the bat and Cilic kicks off his campaign against another tough American and former UCLA standout Mackenzie McDonald.
The other section in the bottom half is also loaded with Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini, Denis Shapovalov, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Alex de Minaur. Tsitsipas currently finds himself in the Mallorca final, Berrettini was the runner-up last year and he is undefeated on grass this summer, Shapovalov reached the Wimbledon semis in 2021, Bautista Agut is in the Mallorca title match, and de Minaur is in the Eastbourne semis.
Djokovic’s draw should not get interesting until the quarterfinals, at which point he could run into either Carlos Alcaraz, John Isner, and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz is unproven on grass, so that spot in the last eight alongside Djokovic appears to be up for grabs.
It’s the second section of the bracket where everyone wants to be, as Casper Ruud is obviously a very weak top-four seed on grass. Hubert Hurkacz is there, which balances things out a bit because the Pole is thoroughly deserving of being seeded even better than No. 7. Hurkacz advanced to the semis at the All-England Club last summer and he is coming off a 500-point title in Halle.
In addition to Auger-Aliassime vs. Cressy and Cilic vs. McDonald, first-round matchups to watch are Sonego vs. Kudla, Hurkacz vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Sinner vs. Stan Wawrinka, Alcaraz vs. Jan-Lennard Struff, Shapovalov vs. Arthur Rinderknech, Alexander Bublik vs. Marton Fucsovics, and Taylor Fritz vs. Lorenzo Musetti.
thoughts?
Some great first round match ups, and I like FAA, Tpas, and Btini to make some noise!
Oh, my gosh!You say the field is depleted but it’s not really. This should be interesting, and there are quite a few nice matches to look forward to. Y all of a sudden must Rafa and Felix always meet in majors when they had never met before?!!Sigh! And Y must Shapo be in Rafa’s draw again?!
I would love to see an encounter with Nole and Alcaraz!Lol!!!!
It’s a tough draw. At RG Rafa had to play Felix, Novak, Zverev . That was extremely tough but this time he has Cilic, Felix, Matteo and Novak which is also very tough. He doesn’t have a single easy match early on either.
A lot of people, myself included, have been saying Felix is due a big breakthrough. So I am not happy Rafa is playing him again especially as he seems to have a lot of problems returning his serve. He even had problems on clay.
I don’t know who Alcaraz plays early but it wouldn’t surprise me if he doesn’t get to the quarters. The Rudd/ Hurcacz section is really weak.
About the only good thing I have to say is that Rafa missed NK.
This is the third lousy slam draw Rafa has had this year.😠😠
Precisely Amy!! I mean this really does not surprise me as I had mentioned a few days ago. I know Augier is playing well and like I said Rafa is definitely going to have a BIG target on his back. The players will be saying, u got away at AO and RG, Not this time!!
I don’t c anyone on Nole’s draw that would stop him from reaching the finals! He can basically sleep walk his way through that draw!
As for Alcaraz, don’t see him going deep here!
It’s very annoying Mona!!
I don’t see anyone bothering Novak and I am sure he is chuckling away to himself!😀 Alcaraz won’t beat him on grass..!
The problem with Rafa’s draw is it contains so many tough matches. If they seeded for grass Cilic would be seeded much higher so Rafa has 4 big obstacles in a row. Matteo, Felix and Cilic are all rated highly by the bettors..😠😠
It’s rafa’s serve which worries me most. It was very erratic at RG and he can’t get away with that at wimby…
Felix has a tough first round vs cressy
The draw at rg panned out as per script but ao did not .huby and zverev both got out .it may happen here too..rafa may not get to play each of cilic ,FAA ,berretini
While everyone is having their 19th nervous breakdown about Rafa’s draw, I am with Sanju. We don’t know that they will get through to meet Rafa. It happened at the AO. The draw for RG was even worse. At least Rafa does not have to worry about playing Novak until the final. Not in the quarterfinal.
The only dangerous player Rafa avoided was Kyrgios. That is something for which we should all be grateful. Now people are carrying on about FAA the way they were about Alcaraz. This is still a best of five set slam. It is never easy to take out Rafa in a best of five set match. If Rafa can get through the first week then we know what he is capable of. We should also be grateful that he is playing. Thanks to the ablation treatment he received.
I don’t see where an easy draw gave Novak an advantage when he had to face Rafa at RG. It is true that it was on clay, where Rafa always has the advantage. But he was dealing with the foot. We know now that he had to numb the foot to get through it. It appears that the procedure has given Rafa the ability to at least play.
Let’s calm down and see how it all plays out.
Im not sure, but isnt a Nadal-Kyrgios match something to be enjoyed for the complete contrast of styles and temperaments? To a standard tennis fan .
This isnt even the Nadal fan section and we see unbalanced comments assuming ‘everyone’ is one of his fans .
‘Everyone’ had a nervous breakdown in Paris about his draw, and whether he would even be able to walk, or ever play again, because of injury.Yet time and again he runs around like a ten year old when written off, its hard to fathom.
And no-one has mentioned his knees yet…big liability on grass.
The thing about FAA his serves r quite potent compared to Rafa”s. That’s the tricky part and he was the only one to push Rafa to five at RG so yes, I am nervous about him. Rafa tends to be vulnerable in the early rounds at Wimby so there’s that as well. But that is not to say I don’t believe in my Rafa. I’m just acknowledging certain facts!
Yet another stacked draw and forecasting matchups withn a crystal ball.FAA could go out to Cressy or Fritz, and Id doubt Kyrgios will get anywhere near Rafa . 50% chance he retire injured
One match at a time! Rafa has not played on grass for three years, so any match may be difficult for him, regardless of who he plays.
All I wish for is that Rafa will play a more offensive game on grass. I remember that five set match that Rafa lost to Muller in 2017 Wimbledon. To me, had Rafa been more aggressive, he could have won the match which he lost narrowly.
I hope Rafa comes out to play a more offensive game to gain the upper hand asap, counterpunching on grass may not be the best game plan.
About the draw, Djoko is the defending champion and the top seed, so it’s expected he’ll most likely get to the final.
Rafa has a potential meeting with Cilic in R4, to me if both get there, it’ll be a big hurdle for Rafa. FAA has Fritz as potential opponent, before getting to the QF, not easy. Tsitsipas has Berrettini as QF opponent before getting to SF, again not easy for both of them!
https://twitter.com/Nadal_Fr/status/1540284261789581312?s=20&t=o2DuW6cpdwvncXnvwPY8RA
The biggest issue for me is still the foot. Roig said yesterday they don’t know how it will hold up so that the first match will give them their first indications.
This level of uncertainty is, for me, pretty scary.
It’s also the fundamental backdrop to my worry about the difficulty of the draw. Rafa needs some easy/ quick matches and right now he has no easy opponents.
Cerundolo got to the round of 16 at Queens and had some decent showings early this year.
I also worry that Rafa may be nervous having not played on grass since 2019. The match with Mueller in 2017, when he was very tentative for the first 2 sets, has been preying on my mind. I don’t like rafa’s tendency to stand too far back and give the big severs so much latitude.
Anyway, presumably we will get a clearer idea about the foot pretty early on. If that is ok I will be a lot happier.
Fingers crossed!!😀
Another nasty draw…it is going to be very tricky every match.. Nole can sleep walk through to the finals…
I will say it again. An easy draw did not help Novak when he played Rafa in the quarterfinals at RG. I will also repeat that these players have to get through to play Rafa.
Now we are fretting over the foot. Rafa will go out there and do his best. If the foot does not hold up, then so be it. At least Rafa will have given it a shot. Draws can open up.
I am not about to sorry about things over which I have no control. I hope that the foot will be okay. I am just glad that Rafa is going to play. We were not sure he would even be able to play.
WORRY!
Thank you NNY. Some rafans are so annoying with their endless whining about rafa’s foot. I am so sick and tired of it. For goodness sake, rafa has done the treatment and it was successful. That’s why he played two matches and won 1 and the one he lost was quite a long match. He moved perfectly in both matches. And yet we are here worrying about his foot forever.
He is playing Wimbledon. If he loses, he loses and that will have nothing to do with his foot. If Rafa was like some of his fans, he would have retired many years ago and would have never won both the AO and FO.
I am looking forward to see Rafa play Wimbledon win or lose. The end.
“..endless whining about rafa’s foot..”
if he loses he loses and that will have nothing to do with the foot.. ” you don’t know that! He may well lose because of his foot. Or does Roig not know what he is talking about?
Get over yourself!
You and nny went mad on a thread a while back when Mona talked about Alcaraz as a threat. You 2 should stop behaving like PC Plod.
And if we are going to talk about being positive, nny said at the beginning of the year that she had doubts about him being able to win slams now while I was very positive and said I believed he would win several this year.
So belt up!
Let people have their say and stop policing people.
( no doubt nny will call you her hero. That seems to be a fairly farcical stock phrase).
amy,
I do not appreciate you dragging me into this. I have not gone after you. You are not the only one who mentioned Rafa’s foot. You are not the only one who worries or gets upset over draws. So why make it all about you and then bring up crap from God knows when to trash me? You should know better.I am disappointed with your attack on me.
Once I said to Happy that he was my hero when he posted a comment that resonated with me. So? What is the big deal? I liked what he said. Are you just compiling a list of things that I say that you do not like?
One reason why I try to handle slams the way I do now, is in part because of my health. I try not to worry over things that I cannot control. It helps to not use up energy that I don’t have. I was in the hospital in April and then had to go through additional procedures as an outpatient. I will not discuss it any further. Initially I did not even bring it up. But then I told Al about it when we had a disagreement.
I am pretty much disgusted with what you said. I don’t need it. I do what is best for myself these days. If it annoys you or you see it as some kind of criticism of you, that is unfortunate.
Really Amy, was that necessary? Please if you want to insult me go ahead but don’t drag NNY into this with such insults. She doesn’t deserve it and that’s totally uncalled for.
I know what roig said and I know what rafa said. Rafa said his foot is fine and I believe Rafa. Nobody is policing anybody and in my disagreement with Mona, did I ever tell her to get over herself or belt it up and then proceed to insult sb else like you did NNY with that line “m sure she’ll call you her hero”. Really Amy?
Let’s not be angry with the endless nonsensical doping allegations against Rafa bc of his foot and many Rafa haters including some players saying subtly they are tired of hearing about the foot. If you are playing Wimbledon, then play it and if you lose you lose. Mentioning AHEAD of the matches that Rafa May lose his match bc of his foot is very disingenuous to his opponents.
NNY, I apologise for the insult hurled at you. I caused it and I’m sorry. I apologise to you Amy for offending you. If what I said to Mona about alcaraz offended her, I apologise to her as well. Have a nice day.
Ok Happy let’s just forget it.
I am really tired today. Lots of appalling stuff going on in the world – everyone here knows I am very political – and I am pretty angry today.
I apologise to you if I overreacted. Too tired to think straight. I have no desire to get into a fight with anyone on a tennis forum unless they are anonymous or Stanley.
I took what you said personally which may be quite wrong. I am very well aware of Mole Farm blithering on about Rafa doping all the time. They are truly insane at the moment!
Namaste!😀
PS I actually say quite a lot in a semi ironic manner. It’s an annoying British trait but people quite often misunderstand me and think I am being serious when I am not. Am referring to previous comments I have made.
Happy,
Thanks. I did not intend to criticize anyone else. It was meant to be more about what I need to do when it comes to watching Rafa in slams so that I don’t make myself sick with worry and anxiety. I am dealing with health issues and just need to be selective about the emotional energy I invest these days. So I try to let go if what I cannot control. In best of five set matches we can’t know yet how the foot will hold up. We will see. I hope it does. I am nit here to tell anyone to not worry or be concerned about the draw. I will take it one match at a time. That’s for myself.
I can get too caught up in Rafa’s matches at times. I don’t know that this will ever completely change. I truly hope he does well here. Maybe his draw will open up a little. But I am pleased to see him have this treatment so he has the chance to play at Wimbledon. I am looking forward to it.
You do not owe me any apology.
😘
We are not whining about anything we’re just having friendly conversation. The fact is that Rafa does have a foot issue and it is something that can create issues for him. Secondly he hasn’t played grass in 3 years and that’s another issue. Thirdly, he has a tricky draw, one more issue. These are facts and no one knows how any of these will play out but it does not mean we can’t discuss them. And yes, Novak does have an easy draw,, another fact. Will it help him or not, we don’t know.
ALL I know is, I want Rafa to win this thing and with all I highlighted above it certainly could be a challenge. Mind you, there is no guarantee Nole will win either!!