Nadal handed tough draw against Zverev in French Open.
Rafael Nadal will start his French Open return - and expected farewell to the tournament he has dominated - with a first-round match against German fourth seed Alexander Zverev.Spain's Nadal, who has won the men's title on a record 14 occasions, plans to retire later this year.
Zverev, 27, is one of the favourites for the title and tuned up by winning the Italian Open last week.
Britain's Andy Murray has also indicated he will call it a day in the coming months and starts against fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka.
Murray, 37, has only played on the Roland Garros clay once since 2017, but returns for the final time after recovering from an ankle injury which put his participation in doubt.
Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic starts against French wildcard Pierre-Hugues Herbert, while Iga Swiatek begins her bid for a third women's title in a row against a qualifier or lucky loser.
The French Open, which is the second Grand Slam tournament of the season, starts on Sunday, 26 May.
Eye-catching draws for the Britons
Success for British players on the Paris clay has been scarce over the years and, based on form and pedigree, it would be monumental achievement if anyone could follow Sue Barker as the only singles champions from the nation in the Open era.Katie Boulter is the highest-ranked British player and the 26th seed has been a handed a difficult-looking draw.
Making her first appearance in the main draw, Boulter starts against former world number three Paula Badosa and could face former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round.
Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka potentially lies in wait in the third round.
Boulter, 27, almost drew fellow Briton Harriet Dart in the first round.
Boulter was one of two seeds left in the pot to face 27-year-old Dart, who instead starts her second appearance in the main draw against Czech 27th seed Linda Noskova.
In the men’s singles, Cameron Norrie is the leading Briton by ranking and the 32nd seed will have a chance of facing Murray in the second round if he beats 57th-ranked Pavel Kotov.
Dan Evans landed Danish 13th seed Holger Rune, while Jack Draper faces a qualifier or lucky loser.
Who are the other big names drawn against?
While world number one Swiatek is the overwhelming favourite, Sabalenka is expected to be the player who could end her clay-court dominance and faces 101st-ranked Erika Andreeva in her opening match.The pair are separated in the two halves of the draw, meaning they could not play until the final on 8 June.
In the second round, Poland’s Swiatek could face four-time major champion Naomi Osaka, who is back at Roland Garros for the first time since returning from maternity leave and starts against Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti.
American third seed Coco Gauff has been drawn in the same half as Swiatek, meaning they could face in the semi-finals.
Gauff, who lost to Swiatek in the last four in Rome last week, also begins her campaign against a qualifier or lucky loser.
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Italian second seed Jannik Sinner plays American Chris Eubanks, while Spanish third seed Carlos Alcaraz takes on a qualifier or lucky loser.
The road to the final for the top 2 seeds in the men's draw.
The road to the final for the top 2 seeds in the women's draw.
Nadal raising the intensity before the Zverev matchup.
| ||||||
| 207101 | Carlos Alvaraz | +225 | ||||
| 207102 | Novak Djokovic | +275 | ||||
| 207107 | Jannik Sinner | +450 | ||||
| 207109 | Alexander Zverev | +600 | ||||
| 207106 | Stefanos Tsitsipas | +700 | ||||
| 207108 | Casper Ruud | +1200 | ||||
| 207103 | Rafael Nadal | +1600 | ||||
| 207112 | Andrey Rublev | +2200 | ||||
| 207105 | Daniil Medvedev | +2500 | ||||
| 207104 | Holger Rune | +2500 | ||||
| 207118 | Alex De Minaur | +6600 | ||||
| 207121 | Taylor Fritz | +6600 | ||||
| 207124 | Hubert Hurkacz | +8000 | ||||
| 207122 | Karen Khachanov | +8000 | ||||
| 207141 | Nicolas Jarry | +8000 | ||||
| 207171 | Felix Auger Aliassime | +10000 | ||||
| 207115 | Francisco Cerundolo | +10000 | ||||
| 207132 | Grigor Dimitrov | +10000 | ||||
| 207128 | Tommy Paul | +10000 | ||||
| 207131 | Jan-Lennard Struff | +12500 | ||||
| 207110 | Lorenzi Musetti | +12500 | ||||
| 207154 | Arthur Fils | +15000 | ||||
| 207133 | Ben Shelton | +15000 | ||||
| 207113 | Borna Coric | +15000 | ||||
| 207120 | Botic Van De Zandschulp | +15000 | ||||
| 207123 | Frances Tiafoe | +15000 | ||||
| 207157 | Miomir Kecmanovic | +15000 | ||||
| 207127 | Roberto Bautista Agut | +15000 | ||||
| 207142 | Tallon Griekspoor | +15000 | ||||
| 207169 | Thiago Seyboth Wild | +15000 | ||||
| 207148 | Tomás MartÃn Etcheverry | +15000 | ||||
| 207150 | Ugo Humbert | +15000 | ||||
| 207149 | Alexander Bublik | +20000 | ||||
| 207155 | Alexei Popyrin | +20000 | ||||
| 207117 | Cameron Norrie | +20000 | ||||
| 207146 | Daniel Evans | +20000 | ||||
| 207129 | Denis Shapovalov | +20000 | ||||
| 207126 | Pablo Carreno Busta | +20000 | ||||
| 207144 | Sebastian Baez | +20000 | ||||
| 207119 | Sebastian Korda | +20000 | ||||
| 207158 | Stan Wawrinka | +25000 | ||||
| 207156 | Yoshihito Nishioka | +25000 |
| ||||||
| 207601 | Iga Swiatek | -180 | ||||
| 207602 | Aryna Sabalenka | +450 | ||||
| 207605 | Coco Gauff | +800 | ||||
| 207603 | Elena Rybakina | +1000 | ||||
| 207634 | Danielle Collins | +1800 | ||||
| 207616 | Maria Sakkari | +2800 | ||||
| 207613 | Jelena Ostapenko | +3300 | ||||
| 207614 | Qinwen Zheng | +3300 | ||||
| 207606 | Mirra Andreeva | +4000 | ||||
| 207635 | Elina Svitolina | +6600 | ||||
| 207628 | Madison Keys | +6600 | ||||
| 207608 | Ons Jabeur | +6600 | ||||
| 207609 | Beatriz Haddad Maia | +8000 | ||||
| 207617 | Daria Kasatkina | +8000 | ||||
| 207615 | Paula Badosa | +8000 | ||||
| 207607 | Barbora Krejcikova | +10000 | ||||
| 207636 | Emma Navarro | +10000 | ||||
| 207637 | Jasmine Paolini | +10000 | ||||
| 207623 | Linda Noskova | +10000 | ||||
| 207620 | Liudmila Samsonova | +10000 | ||||
| 207625 | Marketa Vondrousova | +10000 | ||||
| 207639 | Anna Kalinskaya | +15000 | ||||
| 207611 | Caroline Garcia | +15000 | ||||
| 207640 | Marta Kostyuk | +15000 | ||||
| 207638 | Naomi Osaka | +15000 | ||||
| 207619 | Sloane Stephens | +15000 | ||||
| 207627 | Victoria Azarenka | +15000 | ||||
| 207642 | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | +20000 | ||||
| 207643 | Ekaterina Alexandrova | +20000 | ||||
| 207621 | Karolina Pliskova | +20000 | ||||
| 207641 | Leylah Fernandez | +20000 | ||||
| 207644 | Sara Sorribes Tormo | +20000 | ||||
| 207612 | Veronika Kudermetova | +20000 | ||||
| 207622 | Bianca Andreescu | +25000 | ||||
| 207629 | Clara Tauson | +25000 | ||||
| 207631 | Donna Vekic | +25000 | ||||
| 207632 | Jule Niemeier | +25000 | ||||
| 207624 | Linda Fruhvirtova | +25000 |
Igs Swiatek = overrated
Our first batch of qualifiers.
