French Open 2022: Men’s Singles Draw Preview and Prediction for Roland Garros
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Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Carlos Alcaraz
The second grand slam of the season, the French Open will commence on May 22. The draw for the same is out and will feature defending champion Novak Djokovic as the top seed.
Tournament Details:
- Tournament: French Open 2022
- Date: May 22- June 5, 2022
- Number of Entrants: 128 (Singles), 64 (Doubles)
- Venue: Paris, France
- Surface: Clay Court
- Prize Money: €43.6 million
- Defending champion: Novak Djokovic
Top Seeds at the French Open 2022
- Novak Djokovic
- Daniil Medvedev
- Alexander Zverev
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Rafael Nadal
- Carlos Alcaraz
- Andrey Rublev
- Casper Ruud
Men’s Singles Draw Preview
First Quarter
Novak Djokovic will headline the top quarter of the draw and gets a nightmare draw towards the business end. He faces Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round and will face either Federico Coria or Alex Molcan in the second round. Djokovic is drawn alongside 31st seed Jenson Brooksby who faces Pablo Cuevas in the opening round. Aljaz Bedene will take on Christopher O’Connell in the first round with the winner taking on Brooksby.
Clay-court specialist Diego Schwartzman will open his campaign against a qualifier and will face either Jaume Munar or Daniel Altmaier in the second round. Meanwhile, Grigor Dimitrov faces Marcos Giron in the first round with the winner facing either Borna Coric or Carlos Taberner. Dimitrov and Schwartzman are expected to meet in the third round with the winner facing Djokovic in the Round of 16.
13-time grand slam champion Rafael Nadal also finds himself in the top quarter of the draw and will face Jordan Thompson in the first round. He will next face either Corentin Moutet or former French Open champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round. 26th seed Botic Van de Zandschulp will take on a qualifier and will meet either Fabio Fognini or Alexei Popyrin in the second round. Nadal will face one of Botic or Fognini in the third round.
9th seed Felix Auger Aliassime will face a qualifier in the opener and then is drawn to meet big-hitting Russian Aslan Karatsev who opens against a qualifier. American giant Reilly Opelka will face Filip Krajinovic in the first round with the winner facing Alejandro Tabilo or a qualifier in the next round. Felix and Opelka are drawn to clash in the third round with the winner facing Nadal in the fourth round.
First Quarterfinal Prediction: Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
Second Quarter
Alexander Zverev is the third seed of the tournament and starts his campaign against a qualifier. He faces Serbian Dusan Lajovic or Sebastian Baez in the second round and is drawn alongside Alejandro Davidovich Fokina who faces Tallon Griekspoor in the first round. Brandon Nakashima and Kamil Majchrzak are also in the same bracket where Zverev and Fokina are drawn to meet in the third round.
Indian Wells Masters champion Taylor Fritz gets an easy draw and will face a qualifier in the opening round. He will then face yet another qualifier or Michael Mmoh in the second round and is drawn against fellow countryman John Isner, whom he could face in the third round. Isner takes on Quentin Halys in the opener and will most probably face Taro Daniel in the second round.
6th seed and one of the tournament favorites, Carlos Alcaraz will open his campaign against a qualifier and will face either Thanasi Kokkinakis or Albert Ramos Vinolas in the second round. 27th seed Sebastian Korda is in Alcaraz’s bracket and will face John Millman in the first round. Frenchman Richard Gasquet and Lloyd Harris will also play a thrilling first-round match with the winner ready to face Korda.
Cameron Norrie takes on Manuel Guinard in the opening round and is expected to face Denis Kudla in the second round. Karen Khachanov faces a qualifier in the first round with the winner facing Hugo Dellien or 2-time French Open finalist Dominic Thiem. Alcaraz and Norrie are expected to meet in the Round of 16.
Second Quarterfinal Prediction: Alexander Zverev vs Carlos Alcaraz
Third Quarter
Defending finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas gets a tricky first-round matchup but should be overall pretty happy with his draw. He faces Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the opening round and will face either a qualifier or Lucas Pouille in the opening round. Dan Evans will meet Francisco Cerundolo in the first round with the winner facing the winner of the match between Mikael Ymer and James Duckworth.
14th seed Denis Shapovalov will face Holger Rune in an exciting first-round clash. The Canadian, if he wins will face either Pedro Martinez or Henri Laaksonen in the second round. Alex de Minaur is also in the same bracket and will take on Hugo Gaston in the opening round and a qualifier in the second round. Shapovalov is expected to meet in-form de Minaur in the third round.
8th seed Casper Ruud will face Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his possible retirement match and then could face Ugo Humbert in the next round who takes on Emil Ruusuvuori in the opener. Lorenzo Sonego will open against Peter Gojowczyk in the first round with the winner taking in a qualifier or Joao Sousa in the second round.
12th seed Hubert Hurkacz takes on a qualifier in the first round and will face either Pablo Andujar or Marco Cecchinato in the second round. Frances Tiafoe will meet Benjamin Bonzi in the opening round with the winner facing in form David Goffin or Jiri Lehecka in the next round. Hurkacz and Tiafoe should meet in the third round with Hurkacz possibly facing Ruud in the Round of 16.
Third Quarterfinal Prediction: Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Casper Ruud
Fourth Quarter
Second seed Daniil Medvedev will headline the bottom half of the draw. Coming back from an injury, he will face Facundo Bagnis in the first round and then will be up against either Laslo Djere or Ricardas Berankis in the second round. Miomir Kecmanovic will take on Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the first round and will face either Arthur Rinderknech or Alexander Bublik in the second round.
Pablo Carreno Busta will face wildcard Gilles Simon in the opening round before locking horns against either Jiri Vesely or Steve Johnson in the following round. Marin Cilic will be up against Attila Balazs in the opener with the winner taking on Marton Fucsovics in the next round. Carreno Busta and Cilic are expected to meet in the third round.
7th seed Andrey Rublev will take on Soonwoo Kwon in the opening round and is expected to meet either Adrian Mannarino or Federico Delbonis in the second round. Tommy Paul takes on Cristian Garin in the opener while Benoit Paire will lock horns against Ilya Ivashka. Rublev will most probably meet Paul in the third round.
Jannik Sinner, who is in good form, will face a qualifier in the opening round and will then face either Oscar Otte or Roberto Baena Carballes in the second round. Nikoloz Basilashvili will open against Maxime Cressy and will most probably face Mackenzie McDonald and Sinner in the second and third round respectively.
Fourth Quarterfinal Prediction: Daniil Medvedev vs Jannik Sinner
Also Read: REVEALED! Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Path to Claim his First French Open title
Semifinals
Novak Djokovic will meet Carlos Alcaraz in the first semifinal. The young Spaniard got the better of Djokovic in Madrid but the Serb is a different beast when it comes to five sets. This could be the match of the tournament and Djokovic is expected to avenge his semifinal loss at Madrid.
In the second semifinal, Stefanos Tsitsipas will face Italian Jannik Sinner. Tstsipas is one of the best contemporary clay-court players while Sinner is still rising. Both have a very good clay-court game so expect a tight match with Tsitsipas making it to back-to-back finals at Stade Roland Garros.
French Open Final: Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Final
The 2022 final will once again be the repeat of the 2021 Final. Courtesy of a lop-sided draw, Novak Djokovic will be up against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 2021 Final was one of the best major finals in recent history and the same is expected this year too. Djokovic will have a slight edge and that should be enough for him to lift his 21st grand slam title in Paris.
Champion: Novak Djokovic
Also Read: REVEALED! Carlos Alcaraz’s Path to Claim his First French Open title
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Lakshya Chopra
(2648 Articles Published)