Even before the start of the biggest tournament on clay, Roland Garros is already historic. For the first time in the history of four Grand Slam tournaments, the three most decorated tennis players of all time were in the same half of the draw.
The first seed, Novak Djokovic could play with Roger Federer in the projected quarter-finals, while he should meet the third seed but the first favorite, Rafael Nadal, in the semi-finals. Getting Rafa on the "Filip Shatrije" center court is probably the greatest challenge of modern sports. Djokovic knows this best, because in last year's final - played in September, under a closed roof, in conditions that were believed to suit him better, he won only seven games (6:0, 6:2, 7:5).
A new tennis classic between Rafa and Nolet this time is only possible in the semifinals, because the draw tried to separate the tennis icons from the long-awaited young wave. Thus, in the lower part of the skeleton are all the tennis players who have only been a threat to the biggest in recent years - double finalist Dominik Thiem, second seed Danil Medvedev, Aleksandar Zverev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is playing great on clay this season.
- Roland Garros is a special place for me, my favorite tournament. But that's not the focus now, it's important to play better than everyone else to win the tournament. I lost early in the Masters in Monte Carlo and Madrid, I hope it won't be like that here. I will fight - stressed Nadal, who celebrates his 35th birthday in four days, whose rival tomorrow will be Alex Popirin.
Before this year's edition, a three-meter tall statue was erected to him in the district of the Roland Garros tennis complex with a racket placed after the forehand played. The statue began construction in 2017 following his 10th trophy and is the first active player to receive such an honour.
Djokovic will try to mess up his accounts and get revenge for the convincing defeat in last year's final. The Serbian will also play his first match tomorrow, his rival is the American Tenis Sandgren. Contrary to current practice, Nole did not decide to take a seven-day vacation before the Grand Slam, but won the ATP tournament in Belgrade yesterday.
- I saw in the Rome final with Nadal that I was physically ready, because I reached him after exhausting two matches just a day before. At the tournament in Belgrade, I tried to improve some details in my game, and that peace in my home means a lot to me - explained the 34-year-old Djokovic.
Unlike those two, Federer is not expected to do much in Paris this season. The Swiss himself admits that at the moment he is below the level of his two biggest competitors due to breaks after knee surgery. He starts against Denis Istomin. This is confirmed by Tim, for whom slag is his favorite substrate.
- At 'Filip Shatrije', you know, Rafa dominates and winning him on that court is the biggest test in this sport. Two seasons ago I would have been happy if the top three were outside my skeleton section. Now, after the injury and the missed part of the season, I am concentrating only on the first round with the Spaniard Pablo Anduhar-Alba - said Tim.
Kovinić today against the Frenchwoman Burel, dreams of a clash with Osaka
In the women's part of Roland Garros, Montenegro has a representative - Danka Kovinić will compete today against the local tennis player Klara Burel. After the great editions in America, the Novljanka had problems with an injury in the European part of the tour, so it is questionable how much she can provide at this moment.
The first skeleton player is the Australian Ashley Barty, who will play with Bernard Per at the start, and in the projected semi-final she should play against the Polish Iga Svyontek, who is defending the title. She came to Parz in fantastic shape, after winning the final in Rome, where she beat the Czech Karolina Pliskova without losing a game, who won only 13 points!
Svjontek's first match is against Slovenian Kaja Juvan.
The Japanese Naomi Osaka is the seed in the lower part of the skeleton and at the start she will play with the Romanian Patricia Cig, and possibly in the third round against Danka Kovinić.
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