“The attention of the whole world will be on this.” The King of Clay’s return to Roland Garros has a vicious twist to the story. Rafael Nadal, former World No. 1 but currently at the 276th rank, is unseeded at the French Open. The world knows 2024 is likely his last year on the ATP Tour, but instead of a smooth retirement journey, Rafa has been pitted against Italian Open winner Alexander Zverev in the very first round. Talk about disheartening!

Because there’s almost no way the injury-ridden Spaniard will make it past the 27-year-old German. This duo’s last Roland Garros meeting in 2022 ended in Rafa’s favor but only because Zverev had to retire early due to an ankle injury. Now? The story is moving in the opposite direction and the tennis world is angry. Among those taking out their anger on the French Open organizers is Coco Gauff’s coach, Brad Gilbert.

Gilbert took to X and wrote, “If you are not seeded, you can play anyone of the other 127 players in the draw ✍️1st rd, the tournament 🏟 could have chosen to seed Vamos-Rafa but hardly ever change the seeds here to my knowledge, this is how a random draw ✍️ comes out for better or worse.” With his constant struggles with hip injuries and muscle tears, the King of Clay also stayed away from tennis for the majority of last year. But, his rival, Novak Djokovic had an interesting take on this. 

Reaction Info: What do you think of this random draw?

Recently, when the Djoker was asked about this draw, he said, “…Total spectacle. I’m excited to see that match, it’s going to be a very interesting match… I know Rafa won’t want it, but I think it can be a game scheduled for the evening… In any case, it will be very interesting because Zverev is in great shape. But on the Roland Garros court, Rafa is Rafa.”

However, a similar situation arose back in 2022 as well, where Rafa suffered from back-to-back injuries on-court. Rafa entered Roland Garros with a ranking below World No. 4 but eventually took away the trophy with grace. After all, this is the place where he has gained 14 titles in total and knows his way around there. However, this time, the scenario is starkly different. 

The tournament director of the French Open, Gilbert Ysern, previously stated, “Today, it is his sporting level, it seems, which has fallen. He is not hampered. So, we will not adjust the seedings in his favor.”

Even Rafa himself admitted that the Paris Olympics are his main goal this year. In April, Rafa had expressed, “We’ll see what happens, but the world doesn’t end if I don’t play at Roland Garros. I also have the Olympic Games ahead of me.” For fans though, it might be. However, amid everything, Nadal remains hopeful about his French Open run this season if he will end up playing.

Rafael Nadal wants to give his “100 percent” in the French Open

Rafael Nadal has had an incredible run in the French Open during his career. With a 112-3 record at the event, he is now all set to face Zverev for the 11th time in his career. Nadal, who leads the Head2Head count against Zverev with 7-3, previously met him at Roland Garros back in 2022. It was a fateful meeting and this time, fans are excited to see them compete once again on the same ground, with Nadal giving his all. 

“I’m going to play the French Open thinking that I can give my all, 100 percent,” Rafael Nadal said after his second-round exit from Rome. While the world awaits to see how the tournament unfolds, we all hope that his first round against Zverev further proves his dominance on the clay court rather than make the other reality come true.