French Open 2026: Sinner, Djokovic land in opposite halves of men’s singles draw
Paris, May 21 (IANS) Italy’s Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic, the player who has won the most Grand Slam titles in the history of the sport, have landed on opposite sides of the French Open men’s singles draw, following the official ceremony at Stade Roland Garros in Paris on Thursday.
The No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings, Sinner, arrives at the clay-court major carrying a 29-match winning streak and will open his campaign against French wild card Clement Tabur. The 24-year-old Sinner is aiming to become just the seventh man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam with a title run at Roland Garros.
Djokovic, a three-time champion at Roland Garros, begins his latest bid for a 25th major trophy against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and could face NextGen ATP star Joao Fonseca in the third round. The Serbian is in the same half of the draw as second seed and 2024 finalist Alexander Zverev, who opens against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.
Lying in Zverev’s quarter is home favourite Arthur Fils, who begins his campaign against Stan Wawrinka. The 41-year-old Swiss, who triumphed at Roland Garros in 2015, is competing in his final season on the ATP Tour.
Gael Monfils, who is also competing in his final season on Tour, will meet Hugo Gaston in his final appearance at Roland Garros.
#NextGenATP talents Rafael Jodar, Martin Landaluce, and Moise Kouame have also learned their draw fate. Jodar, who is 15-3 on clay this year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, begins against Aleksandar Kovacevic on his debut and could meet seventh seed Taylor Fritz in the third round.
Landalcue faces a qualifier or lucky loser and could meet Sinner in the third round. The 17-year-old French wild card Moise Kouame opens against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic.
Casper Ruud, a two-time finalist at the clay-court major, is a potential fourth-round opponent for Djokovic. The Norwegian reached the Rome final last week and remains in action in Geneva, where he is into the quarterfinals.
–IANS
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