French Open 2023 draw: Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic placed in same half

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic landed in the same half of the draw at the 2023 French Open. The clay-court Grand Slam will take place from May 28 to June 11. The Spaniard, who has won three clay-court trophies this season, could face third seed Djokovic in the semi-finals, with 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas tied at 20. -old Town. Alcaraz is competing in his third Grand Slam on clay, having reached the quarterfinals in 2022. The top seed will face a qualifier in the first round before facing 14th seed Cameron Norrie in the fourth round. Fifth seed Tsitsipas, who is in the same division as Felix Auger-Aliassime, could be Alcaraz’s quarterfinal opponent.

Canada’s Denis Shapovalov and Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti are also in the top quarter of the draw. Alcaraz could face Shapovalov in the third round, while Musetti, who led Djokovic to five sets in Paris in 2021, is in the same division as Norrie. Two-time champion Djokovic, who is bidding to win a record 23rd Grand Slam title in Paris, will start against American Aleksandar Kovacevic. The Serb is in the same section as Hubert Hurkacz, with seventh seed Andrey Rublev a possible quarterfinal opponent. Rublev captured the Monte Carlo title last month and faces Laslo Djere in the first round.

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American Ben Shelton is in the same section as Rublev. The 20-year-old Shelton, who reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, had never competed on red clay before this year. Shelton will face a tough opening test against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego. Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, anchors the bottom half of the draw. After earning his maiden victory on clay last week in Rome, the 27-year-old moved up to No. 2 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Medvedev’s victory in Italy ensured that he would be seeded second in Paris, allowing Alcaraz and Djokovic to be placed in the same half.

In the first round, Medvedev will face either a qualifier before Jannik Sinner or two-time semifinalist Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. Sinner, the eighth seed, will face Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the first round, while Zverev will face South African Lloyd Harris. Sinner is 28-7 this season and has reached three tour-level finals, including his second ATP Masters 1000 title match in Miami.