Rafael Nadal to play his final French Open

• Rafael Nadal will play Alexander Zverev in the first round.
• Nadal will be playing his final French Open.
• Osaka has a complicated history with the French Open.

Rafael Nadal is poised to compete against world number four Alexander Zverev in an eagerly awaited first-round match at his final French Open, while women’s champion Iga Swiatek and four-time major winner Naomi Osaka are projected to clash in the second round.

Novak Djokovic, the defending men’s champion and winner of 24 Grand Slam titles, will face French veteran Pierre Hugues-Herbert in his first match.

Nadal, a 14-time Roland Garros champion, is unseeded due to an injury that caused his ranking to fall to 276.

Nadal and Zverev previously faced off in the 2022 semi-finals, where the German had to withdraw due to a severe ankle injury.

Nadal, who has 22 Grand Slam titles to his name, will celebrate his 38th birthday next week, marking his final season on tour.

He holds a 7-3 winning record against Germany’s Zverev, with five of those victories coming on clay.

Zverev is coming to Paris fresh off his Rome Open victory last weekend.

In addition to his 14 Paris titles, Nadal has an impressive record of 112 wins and only three losses, two of which were against Djokovic, who is aiming for his fourth French Open title.

Djokovic celebrated his 37th birthday on Wednesday by winning in Geneva in his 1,100th career match.

Despite making it to the semifinals of the Australian Open and Monte Carlo Masters, the Serbian has yet to claim a championship in 2024.

Following Thursday’s draw, Djokovic is expected to face Zverev in the semifinals.

Christopher Eubanks of the United States will face off against world number two Jannik Sinner, who defeated Djokovic at the Australian Open in January.

Carlos Alcaraz, the third-seeded Wimbledon champion and 2023 Paris semifinalist, will compete against a qualifier.

Although Sinner and Alcaraz are expected to meet in the semifinals, their injuries have prevented them from participating in the Rome tournament.

Andy Murray, the 2016 runner-up, is also participating in the tournament for the last time.

In a match between experienced Grand Slam players, 37-year-old Stan Wawrinka and 39-year-old Wawrinka will compete.

In their 22 encounters over a rivalry spanning two decades, Murray holds a 13-9 lead.

Three of these matches took place at Roland Garros, where Murray won in the 2016 semifinals and the Swiss in the 2017 final four and the 2020 first round.

In the women’s draw, Osaka will face Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in her first round before potentially facing a qualifier. Swiatek, the top seed and world number one, will compete against a qualifier.

Swiatek is aiming for his fourth French Open title and his fifth major.

Osaka, currently ranked 134th in the world, has never made it past the third round in Paris. Bronzetti, the world’s 48th-ranked player, has lost both of his main draw matches.

Osaka, 26, has had a complex relationship with the French Open.

She was penalised in 2021 for refusing to participate in mandatory media appearances and for withdrawing from the tournament after just one match, citing mental health concerns.

Meanwhile, Swiatek is striving to become the first player since Justine Henin in 2007 to win three consecutive women’s titles in Paris.

Erika Andreeva of Russia, ranked 101st, will face world number two Aryna Sabalenka in the first round.

Coco Gauff, the third seed and US Open champion, will start her match against a qualifier and is expected to face Swiatek in the semifinals.

In the semifinals, double Australian Open champion Sabalenka is expected to face former Wimbledon winner Elena Rybakina.

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