On Thursday Novak Djokovic learned his path to French Open glory but all the talk surrounds one particular match that doesn’t involve him.
In a first round blockbuster, 14-time champion Rafael Nadal takes on an in-form Alexander Zverev in what could be the last time he plays at the clay-court major. Zverev recently claimed his first Masters title since 2021 at the Italian Open. At the same tournament, Nadal reached the second round before losing to Hubert Hurkacz.
The clash will be a repeat of the 2022 French Open semi-final which the king of clay won in unfortunate circumstances after Zverev sustained a serious ankle injury. Overall, Nadal leads their head-to-head 7-3 but it has been two years since their last meeting.
Quizzed about the upcoming match following his quarter-final win over Tallon Griekspoor at the Geneva Open, Djokovic believes it will be an ‘interesting’ showdown.
“It’s going to be showtime and I’m excited to see that,” RTS quoted Djokovic as saying.
“I know Rafa won’t want it, but I think it can be a game scheduled for the evening… In any case, it will be very interesting because Zverev is in great shape. But on the Roland-Garros court, Rafa is Rafa…”
Djokovic is hoping to get a boost ahead of the French Open by winning the Geneva trophy to claim what would be his first title of the season. Earlier this week he became the third player in the Open Era to win 1100 Tour matches. Against Griekspoor he dropped six games during his 7-5, 6-1 victory.
“It was a great win. I thought the first set could have gone his way easily because I think he was a better player for most of the first set,” Djokovic commented on his latest victory.
“We could have been having a completely different direction of the match if he converted those set points.
“I was lucky to find some really good serves, and from that moment onwards I really, really played some good, solid tennis.”
Djokovic will next play Tomas Machac on Friday. The match takes place two days before the start of the French Open.