Alcaraz Handed Tricky Opener In French Open Men's Singles Draw; Djokovic In Same Half As Sinner

Three-time Roland Garros champion Novak Djokovic could stand in the way of Jannik Sinner's quest for a maiden French Open crown, with the duo drawn in the same half in the 2025 edition's men's singles category. World number one Sinner was handed a tricky draw on Thursday (May 22), facing France's Arthur Rinderknech in the opening round. Italian Open winner Carlos Alcaraz too got a potentially challenging draw, with Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori up against him in the first round. (More Tennis News)

If he crosses the opening hurdle, Sinner, who is making his Grand Slam return after a doping suspension, would take on one of two French wild cards Terence Atmane or Richard Gasquet. The Italian could meet Djokovic in the semi-finals, provided both progress to the last-four stage. The 2024 runner-up Alexander Zverev, too, is in the same half, and could be locking horns with the 38-year-old Serbian in the quarters.

Djokovic plays Mackenzie McDonald in the first round, while Zverev takes on Learner Tien for his opener. Meanwhile, defending champion Alcaraz could be meeting 13th seed Ben Shelton in the fourth round, and former French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas is also a possible opponent.

Casper Ruud, who reached the summit clash in Paris in 2022 and 2023, is seeded to face Alcaraz in the last-eight stage. You can check out the full draw .

The main draw ceremony was carried out with the help of special guest and Paris Saint-Germain football star Ousmane Dembele on Thursday. The qualifying rounds are currently underway and will conclude on Friday, with the tournament proper to run from May 25 to June 8.

As Sinner and Alcaraz are seeded one and two, respectively, this marks the youngest top two seeds at a Major since the 2006 US Open, when a 25-year-old Roger Federer and 20-year-old Rafael Nadal led the field.