By Tony Fairbairn
- Novak Djokovic searches for record-equalling 21st grand slam but will have to go through Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz on his way to the final.
- Top Seeds: Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev, Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas
- British Interest: Cameron Norrie [10], Dan Evans [29]
PARIS, FRANCE – Novak Djokovic is looking to win a record-equalling 21st grand slam title but will have to get past Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in order to reach the final at Roland Garros.
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[1] Novak Djokovic
Best Result: Title (2016, 2021)
The world number one enters Roland Garros having just found his form at the right time after winning Rome and recording positive results in Madrid and Belgrade. Now Djokovic looks to make up for missing the Australian Open as he looks to defend his title in Paris against tough competition.
Djokovic’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Yoshihito Nishioka | H2H: Djokovic leads 2-0
- R2: Alex Molcan | H2H: Djokovic leads 1-0
- R3: Jenson Brooksby [31] | H2H: Djokovic leads 1-0
- R4: Diego Schwartzman [15] | H2H: Djokovic leads 6-0
- QF: Rafael Nadal [5] | H2H: Djokovic leads 30-28
- SF: Alexander Zverev [3] | H2H: Djokovic leads 7-4
- F: Daniil Medvedev [2] | H2H: Djokovic leads 6-4
This draw couldn’t have been any harder for the world number one with Djokovic having to face both Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz before even reaching the final with Alcaraz landing in Zverev’s quarter. Should Djokovic reach the final, the likelihood is that he will have had to play a lot of tennis and could be fatigued heading into the final showdown. Form and history would suggest that it’s not impossible for the Serb to win a 21st grand slam here in Paris but could be one of his more remarkable achievements of his career, should he win Roland Garros this year.
[2] Daniil Medvedev
Best Results: Quarter-Finals (2021)
Medvedev enters Roland Garros with a lack of match-fitness having had surgery in March and only just returned last week in Geneva, where he lost to Richard Gasquet.
Medvedev’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Facundo Bagnis | First Meeting
- R2: Laslo Djere | H2H: Djere leads 1-0
- R3: Miomir Kecmanovic [28] | First Meeting
- R4: Pablo Carreno Busta [16] | H2H: Medvedev leads 5-2
- QF: Andrey Rublev [7] | H2H: Medvedev leads 4-1
- SF: Stefanos Tsitsipas [4] | H2H: Medvedev leads 7-2
- F: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 6-4
A nice opening couple of rounds for the Russian for him to ease back into best of five set tennis on clay, however facing Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round will be tough. If the Russian can defeat the Serbian than he should be comfortable for the rest of the tournament until the semi-finals, where Tsitsipas is favourite to reach the showpiece event from the bottom half of the draw. A semi-final should be a satisfying result for the US Open champion on his least favourite surface.
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[3] Alexander Zverev
Best Result: Semi-Final (2021)
After an underwhelming season so far, Zverev has found his form ahead of Roland Garros and will look to make a deep run in Paris.
Zverev’s Path to the Final (Ranking/Seeding)
- R1: Qualifier | H2H: First Meeting
- R2: Sebastian Baez | H2H: Zverev leads 1-0
- R3: Alejandro Davidovich Fokina [25] | H2H: Zverev leads 3-0
- R4: Taylor Fritz [13] | H2H: Zverev leads 4-2
- QF: Carlos Alcaraz [6] | H2H: Zverev leads 2-1
- SF: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 7-4
- F: Daniil Medvedev [2] | H2H: Tied at 6-6
Zverev has been given a fairly comfortable draw for the first four rounds and matches that he can slowly build confidence. However Zverev’s chances of reaching beyond the last eight are very slim especially given the way Alcaraz has played throughout this clay court swing. Anything beyond the last eight would be classed as a successful tournament as the German looks to kickstart his 2022 season.
[4] Stefanos Tsitsipas
Best Result: Final (2021)
Tsitsipas has had a good clay-court season with a title in Monte-Carlo and a final in Rome and now the Greek will look to go one step further than last year.
Tsitsipas’s Path to the Final
- R1: Lorenzo Musetti | H2H: Tsitsipas leads 2-0
- R2: Lucas Pouille | H2H: Tsitsipas leads 3-0
- R3: Dan Evans [29] | H2H: Tsitsipas leads 3-0
- R4: Denis Shapovalov [14] | H2H: Shapovalov leads 3-1
- QF: Casper Ruud [8] | H2H: Tied at 1-1
- SF: Daniil Medvedev [2] | H2H: Medvedev leads 7-2
- F: Novak Djokovic [1] | H2H: Djokovic leads 7-2
Tsitsipas has a tricky opening round against someone who can test the best players on this surface. However after that it gets easier for the Greek and a last 16 clash against Denis Shapovalov should make for good entertainment. Despite a testing draw, Tsitsipas will fancy his chances to reach a second consecutive Roland Garros final and potentially go one better in 2022.
Roland Garros takes place from the 22 May – 5 June.
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