Paris, May 24: Rafael Nadal's bid for a 12th French Open title has seen him put in the same half of the draw as Roger Federer at Roland Garros.
The men's draw was conducted on Thursday (May 23) and Nadal, who has only twice lost at the only clay-court major, will begin his campaign against a qualifier.
Two further qualifiers are potential second-round opponents, with Kei Nishikori the first possible top-10 seed he could face in the last eight.
Twenty-time grand slam champion Federer, Stefanos Tsitsipas – who knocked Nadal out of the Madrid Open – and 2015 winner Stan Wawrinka represent potential semi-final opposition.
Potential #RG19 Quarter-finals
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 23, 2019
[1] Novak Djokovic 🇷🇸 vs. [5] Alexander Zverev 🇩🇪
[4] Dominic Thiem 🇦🇹 vs. [8] Juan Martin del Potro 🇦🇷
[6] Stefanos Tsitsipas 🇬🇷 vs. [3] Roger Federer 🇨🇭
[7] Kei Nishikori 🇯🇵 vs. [2] Rafael Nadal 🇪🇸
Nadal and Federer will consequently not meet either world number one Novak Djokovic or dangerous clay-court star Dominic Thiem until the final.
Djokovic will begin against Hubert Hurkacz and a crunch quarter-final could await, with Alexander Zverev in that section of the draw, along with Monte Carlo Masters champion Fabio Fognini.
Thiem lost in the final to Nadal last year and faces wildcard Tommy Paul to start.
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