The French Open will have a different feel this year with Rafael Nadal missing the tournament for the first time since 2005. However, there will still be plenty of action and interesting storylines.
In the men’s drad, Carlos Alcaraz enters the year’s French Open as the No. 1 seed — his first time as a No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam tournament. He recently replaced Novak Djokovic as the No. 1 player in the world, and they both find themselves on the same side of the bracket and could potential meet in the semi-final round. The last time they faced each other was when Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in the Madrid Open semifinals on May 7, 2022.
Djokovic and Nadal are currently tied for the most men’s Grand Slam titles with 22 each. The Serbian star has a chance to earn his 23rd trophy in Paris.
Nadal has won the French Open a record 14 times, including last year. Earlier this month, the veteran announced he was pulling out of the tournament due to a lingering hip injury. In that announcement, he also said he expects to retire after the 2024 season. Nick Kyrgios will also skip this year’s French Open due to the same knee injury that kept him out of the Australian Open in January.
On the women’s side,…
