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The much-awaited draw for the 2024 Roland-Garros was announced on Thursday, May 23. The draw included some mouth-watering fixtures, but all eyes are on when the two arch-rivals, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, will collide.
The Spaniard, recently made a successful comeback after a long injury layoff, while the World No. 1 Djokovic has qualified for the semifinals of the 2024 Geneva Open. The two tennis greats, Nadal and Djokovic, will potentially face each other in the semi-finals at the 2024 Roland-Garros.
The duo have won a whopping 46 Grand Slams between them which is why a battle between them always brings excitement. They have previously faced each other on 59 occasions with the Serb currently leading the race 30-29.
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At the Roland-Garros, Nadal and Djokovic have faced each other 10 times, their last meeting coming in the quarterfinals of the 2022 edition. The 22-time Grand Slam winner, Nadal, defeated his arch-rival 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 during that encounter. He went on to win the competition by defeating Casper Ruud in the final.
This time around, the 14-time French Open champion, Nadal will face the World No.4 Alexander Zverev in a mouth-watering opening round clash. Nadal holds an edge over the German as he leads the head-to-head race 7-3. The winner of this match will face former World No.7 David Goffin in the second round. Nadal could also possibly meet Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals before facing Novak in the semis.
The Serb on the other hand, will face Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the opening round to kick off his title defence in Paris. The 24-time Grand Slam champion is placed in the same quarter of the draw as two-time finalist Casper Ruud. Novak could also face Russia's Medvedev in the semifinals and there is a possibility of a summit clash with Carlos Alcaraz.
The Roland-Garros will kick off on Sunday, 26 May 2024 in Paris. Nadal, the 'King of Clay' might play his last French Open this year and aim to claim a record-breaking 15th championship.
"He is always the biggest favourite for me" - Novak Djokovic picks Rafael Nadal as French Open favourite
Novak Djokovic has picked Rafael Nadal as the favourite to win the 2024 French Open. He also claimed that this year's competition is wide open.
While speaking to the reporters in Geneva, the defending French Open champion talked about the second Grand Slam of the year. While the younger players like Casper Ruud, Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas are playing a good level of tennis, Rafael Nadal is still the favourite to win, according to Djokovic.
"This year is more open. Casper Ruud is surely one of the five players who are candidates to win. You have Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas -- all the players who won a major tournament on this surface this year," he said.
"But when you talk about Roland-Garros and Nadal is there, he is always the biggest favourite for me. After everything he has done on the courts at Roland-Garros court, it's normal, respectfully to put him as the biggest favourite," he added.
Nadal's historic record at the Roland-Garros justifies Djokovic's statements as the Spaniard has just lost three matches at the event while winning a staggering 112 encounters.
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