Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will not meet before the final of the French Open after being placed in opposite halves of the draw on Thursday, while Coco Gauff is on course for a potential semifinal clash with Aryna Sabalenka.
Sinner, the leading men’s favorite in the absence of the injured Carlos Alcaraz, begins his bid for a first Roland Garros title against French wildcard Clément Tabur, ranked 165th.
In the women’s draw, Sabalenka faces a demanding route to the final, with former U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka, rising Canadian talent Victoria Mboko and defending champion Gauff all potential obstacles.
The tournament, which begins Sunday, has been overshadowed by tensions between players and organizers over a pay dispute that has prompted threats of a media boycott.
“We are not going to budge,” tournament director Amélie Mauresmo told reporters at the draw in Paris, adding she was “a little saddened” by the situation.
“We have prize money that has doubled in 10 years and has also increased significantly recently.”
World No. 1 Sinner is slated to meet big-hitting American fifth seed Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals.
Daniil Medvedev is a possible semifinal opponent for the Italian.
The Russian gave Sinner a rare scare in the Italian Open semifinals earlier this month before eventually losing in three sets.
Sinner won his sixth consecutive Masters 1000 title by beating Casper Ruud in the Rome final.
That made the four-time Grand Slam champion only the second man to complete the set of all nine Masters 1000 titles, after Djokovic.
Third seed Djokovic will open his latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title against home player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Second seed Alexander Zverev is a potential semifinal opponent for Djokovic, who turns 39 on Friday.
The German has played Djokovic twice at Roland Garros, losing in the quarterfinals in 2019 and last year.
Djokovic is hoping to break his tie with Margaret Court on 24 major titles, with his most recent Grand Slam triumph coming at the 2023 U.S. Open.
Zverev, still without a Grand Slam title after several near misses, opens against Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.
The standout first-round match sees in-form French No. 1 Arthur Fils face 41-year-old former champion Stan Wawrinka, who is appearing at the tournament for the final time before retirement.
Home favorite Gael Monfils, a semifinalist in 2008, begins his farewell French Open against fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston.
American fourth seed Gauff, who beat Sabalenka in last year’s final, begins her title defense against compatriot Taylor Townsend.
Sabalenka, who has never won Roland Garros, was handed a difficult draw.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka is a potential fourth-round opponent for Sabalenka, although she has never reached the second week in Paris.
Rising Canadian prospect Mboko or fifth seed Jessica Pegula could await in the quarterfinals.
Sabalenka opens against Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro.
Gauff may need to get past fellow American Amanda Anisimova, a finalist at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year, in the quarterfinals.
Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek, seeded third, could meet Italian Open winner Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.
Second seed Elena Rybakina, who won the Australian Open earlier this year, is projected to meet Swiatek in the semifinals.
Swiatek opens against 17-year-old Australian wildcard Emerson Jones, while Rybakina plays Slovenia’s Veronika Erjavec.
There is a possible all-Southeast Asian clash in the second round between Indonesia’s Janice Tjen and the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala. If that match happens, it could lead to a third-round meeting with Osaka.
