The keys to the 2023 Roland Garros draw this Thursday

Roland Garros 2023 raffles today, at 2 p.m., the men’s and women’s main draws, which will take place from May 28 to January 11. This will be the first hype without Rafael Nadal since 2005, when the man from Manacorí won the first of his fourteen Cups for the Musketeers. The last one, in 2021.

He will not be able to defend the crown, he is at “full point” to rebuild his body and try to leave with all the honors during the 2024 season in selected tournaments, including the Parisian Grand Slam on clay.

Yes, he plans to present the trophy at the Polish track Iga Swiatekwho is training after fearing a physical problem suffered last week at the WTA in Rome.

For some time, Roland Garros opted for a computerized method. On one screen, the 128 holes in the draw are covered, under these areas of player distribution according to the current world ranking: 1st and 2nd, 3rd and 4th, 5th to 8th, 9th to 16th, 17th to 32nd, the rest.

In this distribution, these are the keys to the male draw, with Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic center of attention:

The dangers of the first round

Schwartzman, Isner, Wawrinka, Thiem

The first unseeded tennis player by ranking is Frenchman Ugo Humbert. It will rival more ranks for one of the favorites. The Finn Emil Ruusuvuori, the Argentinian Sebastián Báez or the Italian Lorenzo Sonego will not be good food for the first or second round. In the same situation are Gasquets, Lajovic, Schwartzman and Isner. But especially a camouflaged champion at number 88, the Swiss Stan Wawrinka, and a finalist like the Austrian Dominic Thiem, number 91. Far from the form of the past, but his presence was impressive from the start.

5

The third round with many traps

Zverev, Musetti, Davidovich, Bautista…

The seeded players from 17 to 32, theoretical rivals in the third round of the top six. It’s full of pitfalls for an early Grand Slam tie. In this group there is a semifinalist like Alexander Zverev, who returned from where he suffered a serious ankle injury, the talented Lorenzo Musetti, the forceful Alex Davidovich and Roberto Bautista, the always dangerous Alex e Minaur or close in the top-10 like Denis Shapovalov.

4

Round of 16: the cut of the best

Fritz, Auger and Khachanov threaten

The eight who will start as the best seeds when occupying the world top-8 will have as a hypothetical rival in the round of 16 one from 9 to 16. Tommy Paul, 17th, rose due to the loss of Nadal, -15. Although the American has more risk on the hard, it is rocky. Taylor Fritz, Felix Auger-Aliassime or a Karen Khachanov in the rach will declare more danger. Cameron Norrie is coming down, look out for Borna Coric and Hubert Hurkacz who are better on clay than hard

3

several explosive chambers

Tsitsipas, Rune, Rublev, Sinner

In order of ranking, one of these four rivals is for Carlos Alcaraz, who always beats Tsitsipas and has a worse time with his young rival Rune, finalist in Monte Carlo and Rome (the executioner of Djokovic), or Sinner, recently absent. Rublev had lofty goals as champion in Monte Carlo, he lost steam as the gravel tour progressed.

2

Semifinals: The strong point of the draw

Alcaraz and Djokovic, on the same side?

Russian Daniil Medvedev upset the status quo in recent weeks by winning in Rome. In addition to giving him a boost on clay, he took second place in the world from Novak Djokovic, opening up the possibility that the draw could lead to the Serb meeting Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. The Murcian knew from the start that he would not face Medvedev until the final, but he and Nole could go both ways. If asked, Norwegian Casper Ruud, nº 4, would certainly be better in front of him, despite being a finalist in 2022.

1

Carlos Alcaraz, the number 1

Also the number one favorite?

Quarterfinalist in 2022, defeated by Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz returns to Paris stronger as a figure. He regained the world No. 1, in his third spell in the position, to lead the Paris squad. Only his third participation in an event where he debuted in 2021 in the third round, against Jan-Lennard Struff. For historical streaks, top Serbian Novak Djokovic, for being a two-time champion of the tournament. At the age of 36, he aims to become the most successful in history with the 23rd Grand Slam. They are the two top favorites.
A complicated path, for one or the other, will be, for example, Ruusuvuori, Wawrinka, Zverev or Musetti, Fritz, Tsitsipas, semis between them and a final with Medvedev or Rune.

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