Rafael Nadal claims he doesn't mind being seeded 3rd at Roland Garros, says "it is part of the game"

Rafael Nadal has declared that he does not have a problem with being seeded behind Daniil Medvedev at Roland Garros this year despite the fact that he is a 13-time champion in Paris.

Rafael Nadal, the third seed at the French Open this year, has been placed in the same half of the draw as rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. This means he could face World No. 1 Djokovic in the semifinals rather than the final.

Meanwhile Daniil Medevdev, who had failed to win a single match in Paris in four previous attempts, is seeded one spot ahead of Nadal. That hasn't sat well with tennis fans, many of whom questioned why the organisers decided to stick to the ATP rankings rather than using something like Wimbledon's earlier system of allotting seedings based on a player's surface-specific form and record.

But while speaking to the media after his straight-sets victory over Australia's Alexei Popyrin in the first round, Rafael Nadal brushed off criticism of the seeding system and asserted that tennis is fairer than all other sports.

"That's part of the game," Rafael Nadal said when asked about the prospect of being seeded No. 3 at Roland Garros. "That's how ranking works. There is not one sport that is more fair than tennis on that."

No problem with the seeds, I'm here to do my best: Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal serves

The Spaniard further claimed he had no problem with alloting seeds based on the ATP rankings, and reiterated that his main focus was on playing his best tennis.

"There is a ranking, the seeds are made with the ranking that you had over the last year," Rafael Nadal went on. "That's how it is. You need to find a way to do it fair, and probably that's a good way to avoid problems."

"I mean, fair enough," he added. "I am the third, Medvedev is the second, Novak is the first. No problem with that, here to try my best and when I'm the third, I know that I could be in the same draw as the #1 or the #2."

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