The French Open draw ceremony was conducted on Thursday afternoon at Roland Garros.
For the 127 players in the field other than Jannik Sinner, the primary goal was to avoid the world No. 1’s half of the bracket. That was always a guarantee for second seed Alexander Zverev, but among the players who got lucky are Novak Djokovic, Arthur Fils, Casper Ruud, Joao Fonseca, and Rafael Jodar.
Djokovic’s quarter includes Ruud, Fonseca, Alex de Minaur, and Andrey Rublev. The 24-time Grand Slam champion will kick off his fortnight against big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, marking just his second match of this clay-court swing. Djokovic could face Fonseca or Dino Prizmic in round three, Ruud or Tommy Paul in the last 16, and De Minaur, Rublev, Jakub Mensik, or Alexander Blockx in the quarterfinals.
Elsewhere in the favorable bottom half, Zverev and Jodar are on a collision course for the quarters. Jodar could not have asked for a better draw. The 19-year-old Spaniard’s nearest top-eight seed is a rusty Taylor Fritz, and before that potential third-round contest he will be a massive favorite in his first two matches. Jodar is coming off back-to-back quarterfinal efforts in Madrid and Rome. Zverev faces a more difficult path to the last eight, as the 2024 runner-up likely awaits Tomas Machac in his second match.
It is much worse news at the top of the bracket for Luciano Darderi, Ben Shelton, and Alexander Bublik. Darderi could run into Sinner as early as round four, while Shelton and Bublik are possible quarterfinal foes for the top-seeded Italian.
Daniil Medvedev is a potential semifinal opponent for Sinner. Medvedev could meet Gael Monfils in the third round as the veteran Frenchman plays at Roland Garros for the last time in his career, although Monfils would be hard-pressed to get past Francisco Cerundolo in round two. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Flavio Cobolli, and Learner Tien also find themselves in Medvedev’s quarter.
First-round matchups to watch include Fils vs. Stan Wawrinka, Auger-Aliassime vs. Daniel Altmaier, Rublev vs. Ignacio Buse, and Machac vs. Zizou Bergs.
You can find the entire French Open men’s singles draw at the Roland Garros website