French Open: Tough draw for Nadal, Wawrinka faces Murray first up

TIL Desk Sports/ Rafael Nadal, who is seeking a record-extending 13th French Open title and a record-equalling 20th Grand Slam singles crown, was handed a relatively tough path to this year’s final at Roland Garros when the draw was made on Thursday.

The Spaniard will take on Bulgaria’s Egor Gerasimov in the first round and faces a potential last-eight clash with US Open runner-up Alexander Zverev, who has never made it past the quarter-finals at the claycourt Grand Slam.

Nadal then faces a possible semi-final clash against last year’s runner-up and US Open winner Dominic Thiem. Top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia will face Swede Mikael Ymer in the first round, where Swiss 16th seed and former champion Stan Wawrinka will take on Briton Andy Murray in the hottest opener.

Djokovic, who was ejected from the US Open after he inadvertently hit a line judge in the throat with a ball after a point, has an easier route to the final than Nadal after being drawn in the same half as Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev. Canadian Milos Raonic, the world number 20, pulled out, organisers said.