French Open: Novak Djokovic against Rafael Nadal in the semifinals? High tension before the draw

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are top favorites for the title at the French Open - but the two could already meet in the semifinals.

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While the qualification is going on in Paris these days, the first tense moment of this year's French Open is on the program for the main draw players on Thursday too: The draw for the second Grand will take place in the French capital from 4.30 p.m. -Slam tournament of the year.

And unlike in the recent past on the men's side, positions one and two are not occupied this time by Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. It was Daniil Medvedev who pushed past the Spaniard despite the manageable results on clay and will thus lead the lower half of the table at the French Open.

Thiem escapes Nadal up to a possible final

This naturally means that Nadal could meet Djokovic in the semifinals and thus open the lower branch for a number of players. This was already the case in 2013, when David Ferrer seized the opportunity and moved into his first and only Grand Slam final. In this he was against Nadal, who had triumphed against Djokovic in five sets in the previous round, but then had no chance.

Dominic Thiem should be quite satisfied with the situation before the draw. The Austrian, placed in fourth position, could only face clay court king Nadal in the final and thus escape what is probably the most difficult of all opponents until a possible final game. However, the US Open champion recently struggled with a form low.

Question marks at Rublev and Federer

That cannot necessarily be said about Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev. The Greek triumphed in the current clay court season in Monte Carlo and Lyon, the German took the crown in Madrid. With a corresponding draw, the two could already face Djokovic or Nadal in the quarter-finals.

Andrey Rublev and Roger Federer complete the top eight. Unlike Tsitsipas and Zverev, there is a question mark behind the shape of these two players. Rublev seemed overplayed in the past few weeks, Federer does not see himself as a candidate for the title at the French Open after a long injury break. A cheap draw could definitely help the 20-time Grand Slam champion.

The French Open seeding list: