Top seed Jannik Sinner, Roland-Garros defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, and a stellar player field learned their paths to Grand Slam glory at Thursday’s men’s singles draw ceremony in Paris.
The French Open main draw ceremony for its 2025 edition on Thursday, unveiling the players’ potential path to La Coupe des Mousquetaires in the City of Lights, featuring eye-catching matchups from round one.
In attendance, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, Gilles Moreton, President of the French Tennis Federation, Amelie Mauresmo, tournament director, and French footballer Ousmane Dembele as a guest of honor.
Top Seeds Roland-Garros Potential Paths
In the build-up to the second major of the season, Alcaraz made the most of the clay swing, winning two of three clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments, Monte-Carlo and Rome, last weekend, where he surged to victory over world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in his return to action.
The 22-year-old will launch his title defense campaign at the Stade Roland Garros, facing three-time French Open quarterfinalist Kei Nishikori.
The former world No. 4 dropped in the rankings as he struggled with several injuries, sidelining the US Open finalist from tour since 2021.
His comeback journey, cracking into the Top 100, resulted in a nomination for the 2024 ATP Comeback Player of the Year.
Currently sitting at world No. 62, he is preparing to face the four-time Grand Slam champion in their first meeting at tour level in Paris.
In a potential quarterfinal scenario, the world No. 2 could clash with the 2025 Madrid Open winner, Casper Ruud, who finished runner-up on the Parisian terre battue twice.
Norway’s No.1 will open proceedings against a lucky loser.
Meanwhile, top seed Sinner will kickstart his fortnight against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech.
In the second round, he could face the winner of an all-French duel between home hero Richard Gasquet, competing in his 22nd and final Roland-Garros, and Terence Atmane, both have been awarded a wild card to play at the event.
The Italian, a three-time Slam champion, could feature against fifth seed Jack Draper, Miami Open title winner Jakub Mensik, or ninth seed Alex de Minaur in the projected quarterfinals.
Should the San Candido native survive the stern test that any of these top players can pose, he would have reached the second consecutive semifinal at the major.
Chasing a Historic Career Milestone at Age 38
Three-time Roland-Garros champion Novak Djokovic has been drawn into the 23-year-old Italian top half of the draw.
The 38-year-old will return to the clay courts where he achieved a maiden men’s singles gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
His chances to capture a fourth French Open title were halted last year by a knee injury that required surgery.
This season, the Serbian has struggled to find his best form, experiencing early exits, the most recent at the Madrid Open, as a poor performance at his Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters opener that he deemed “horrible” when speaking to the ATP Media.
“I expected myself at least to have put in a decent performance, not like this. It was horrible,” he asserted.
On Thursday, Djokovic played in the quarterfinals at the Gonet Geneva Open, avenging his loss to Italian Matteo Arnaldi in Madrid nearly a month ago, celebrating his birthday with a ticket to the last four.
On Friday, he inched closer to claim his 100th tour-level title by securing a spot at the ATP 250 final, his 35th on tour.
The Belgrade-born will take on world No. 99 Mackenzie McDonald to open proceedings in Paris.
Moreover, the sixth seed’s route to a record 25th major revealed a possible quarterfinal contest with third-seeded Alexander Zverev, who will arrive in France short of his best tennis.
Last year’s finalist meets American Learner Tien in the opening round; the latter beat the German in Acapulco earlier this season.
Moreover, while Sinner and Alcaraz will not face one another until a potential championship match, Djokovic and the top Italian are on a semifinal collision course.
Nail-Biting R1 Clashes
Resurgent 30th seed Hubert Hurkacz will start his run, squaring off against rising young talent Joao Fonseca.
The 18-year-old Brazilian, who emerged victorious at the Next Gen ATP Finals, will debut at the venue, making his second major main draw appearance following the Australian Open.
Hurkacz’s recent run of form and the Buenos Aires champion’s explosive game will mix in a first-round thriller.
Also, making his 18th appearance, in-form veteran Gael Monfils will play world No. 96 Hugo Dellien.
In case of succeeding, a box office second-rounder against Draper will await the former world No. 6.
Another must-watch encounter will see former champion Stan Wawrinka, who accepted a wild card to contest the major, opening against world No. 54 Jacob Fearnley.
The British player, 17 years Wawrinka’s junior, will make his debut at the tournament.
World No. 44 Lorenzo Sonego and 13th seed Ben Shelton know each other well, having played one another on three occasions before.
The American leads the Italian 2-1 in their series, however, Sonego prevailed in their lone meeting on the red clay in 2023 at Roland-Garros.
Shelton is seeded to meet Alcaraz in the fourth round.
Fourth seed Taylor Fritz landed in the same section of the draw as fellow compatriot Frances Tiafoe.
The top American player, currently sitting at a career-high No. 4, will face German Daniel Altmaier while Tiafoe starts against Roman Safiullin.
Highlighting
Lorenzo Musetti is at the best moment of his young career; his notable performances on the clay court have seen him bring his tennis to a new level, reaching his first Masters 1000 final in Monte-Carlo - fell to Alcaraz to then advance into the last four in Madrid and Rome.
As a result, he sits at a career-high world No. 8 and is bidding to keep his momentum going into the French Open, where his best results are two fourth-round appearances.
The 23-year-old embraces the moment mentally and physically stronger, fit, and motivated for the long run.
The two-time ATP titlist is seeded to clash with Fritz in a possible quarterfinal.
