Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic could face off in the semifinals of the French Open men’s singles competition because they were put in the same section of the draw.
World number one Alcaraz faces a qualifier in his opening match of his first major as a Grand Slam champion.
Third seeded Djokovic will face American Aleksandar Kovacevic as he attempts to win a record-breaking 23rd men’s major title.
One of only three British competitors in the singles, Cameron Norrie, gets the ball rolling against Benoit Paire of France.
Andy Murray, a former world number one, withdrew last week in order to concentrate on the forthcoming grass-court season.
Emma Raducanu, who would have received a place in the main draw, is also not playing following operations on both her wrists and an ankle.
As a result, no Britons feature in the women’s singles after six players lost in the qualifying rounds.
It is the first time the nation is not represented in a Grand Slam main draw since the 2009 US Open.
Read Also: Australian Open: Novak Djokovic has hit back at critics accusing him of faking injury in Melbourne
The French Open, which is the second major of the season, starts on the Roland Garros clay on Sunday.
Rafael Nadal’s absence from this year’s competition due to a hip ailment gives it a strange vibe. Rafael is a 14-time men’s singles champion.
The 36-year-old Nadal of Spain declared last week that he would skip Roland Garros for the first time in 19 years. He was not present at Thursday’s draw, with tradition dictating the defending champion is usually there.
Instead, all eyes were centred on which half of the draw Djokovic would land.
The 36-year-old Serb, who celebrated his birthday last week, was placed in the same group as 20-year-old Alcaraz. The 20-year-old won the US Open last year. However, he was sidelined by an injury for the season-opening major at the Australian Open.
Russian Daniil Medvedev is seeded second and opens his campaign against a qualifier, after winning the Italian Open last week.
