Paris
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer all ended up in the same half of the French Open men’s field in the draw Thursday, meaning no more than one of them can reach the final.
The Big Three top the leaderboard for Grand Slam men’s singles titles: Federer and Nadal head to Roland Garros, where play begins Sunday, tied with 20, while Djokovic has 18.
Nadal beat Djokovic in straight sets in the 2020 final for his record-extending 13th championship on the red clay of Paris, but if they meet again this time, it would be in the semifinals.
Nadal is ranked and seeded No. 3 now and so he could have wound up on either side of the bracket; as luck would have it, he was placed in No. 1 Djokovic’s half.—AP
