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2018 French Open Tennis Tournament – Rafael Nadal of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia while playing a tie break doubles exhibition match against Simone Halep of Romania and Alexander Zverev of Germany on Court Philippe Chatrier during a packed Children’s Day at Roland Garros before the start of the 2018 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 26th 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
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2018 French Open Tennis Tournament – Rafael Nadal of Spain and Novak Djokovic of Serbia while playing a tie break doubles exhibition match against Simone Halep of Romania and Alexander Zverev of Germany on Court Philippe Chatrier during a packed Children’s Day at Roland Garros before the start of the 2018 French Open Tennis Tournament at Roland Garros on May 26th 2018 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
The excitement of the fans is on cloud nine as the French Open 2021 is about to begin tomorrow. It’s the first major after the Australian Open 2020 in which Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic will be playing together. Surprisingly, they are all in the same half of the draw.
In a recent interview, the Tournament Director of the French Open 2021, Guy Forget, revealed an intriguing thing. He said that Nadal‘s agent jokingly asked him to remove Novak Djokovic from his draw.
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Novak Djokovic of Serbia shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain after winning the match point during their final singles match, Day 10 of the ATP Cup at Ken Rosewall Arena in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Andy Cheung/Getty Images)
“It is true that the English do it, it is open to discussion. We are following the ATP ranking which is a benchmark. I know that Rafa’s agent jokingly asked me to remove Rafa from Novak but the draw is electronic!” mentioned Forget in the interview. (Translated via Google Translate)
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Since Nadal is beginning Roland Garros as the third-seeded player behind World No.2 Daniil Medvedev, both Rafa and Nole are expected to play in the semis of the French Open 2021 after a long time.
Rafael Nadal has a tough pathway at the French Open 2021
Even though Rafa is an exceptional player on clay, it’ll be tough for him at Roland Garros this year. His first three rounds are comparatively easier but the problems will begin for the Spaniard after the third round.
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Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy . May 16, 2021, Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his final match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Nadal will likely face rising star Jannik Sinner once again in the fourth round of the tournament this year. He’ll most probably meet Diego Schwartzman or Andrey Rublev in the quarters after that.
If the 34-year-old manages to reach the semis, he’ll encounter the World No.1 Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer. His final can be against Daniil Medvedev or the ‘Prince of Clay’ Dominic Thiem.
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Overall, Rafa has to be both physically and mentally fit for the upcoming two weeks to win his 14th title in Paris. It is certainly not an easy road, but the Spaniard has lost just two matches at the French Open so far. Will he able to defend his title at Roland Garros yet again this year?
