Naomi Osaka gets rematch as she returns to French Open

PARIS –

Naomi Osaka’s return to the French Open shall be a tricky check in opposition to the participant who beat her on the Australian Open, Amanda Anisimova.

They have been paired within the bracket throughout Thursday’s draw at Roland Garros for the clay-court main tennis event.

Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who was No. 1 within the rankings however has slipped to No. 38 partly due to a scarcity of exercise. That included time without work for a psychological well being break after she withdrew from Roland Garros forward of her second-round match final yr, revealing that she has handled nervousness and melancholy.

As a result of she isn’t seeded on the French Open, the place play begins Sunday, she was not protected from going through a seeded opponent straight away, in order that’s what’s going to occur in opposition to No. 27 Anisimova.

Anisimova received their third-round encounter at Melbourne Park in January by a rating of 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).

The doable girls’s quarterfinals in Paris are No. 1 seed and 2020 champion Iga Swiatek in opposition to two-time main runner-up Karolina Pliskova, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova in opposition to Anett Kontaveit, Paula Badosa in opposition to Aryna Sabalenka, and Ons Jabeur in opposition to Maria Sakkari.

Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz all have been positioned on the identical half of the boys’s bracket.

Djokovic, who’s the defending champion and seeded No. 1, might meet 13-time champion Nadal within the quarterfinals. Djokovic beat Nadal within the semifinals a yr in the past.

Nadal leads the Grand Slam title standings amongst males with 21, one forward of Djokovic and Roger Federer. This shall be Djokovic’s first main event since final yr’s U.S. Open; he was not allowed to play within the Australian Open as a result of he has not been vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19.

If that Djokovic-Nadal showdown occurs, the winner might face No. 6 seed Alcaraz within the semifinals. Alcaraz is simply 19, just lately received the Madrid Open on clay and have become the youngest man to interrupt into the highest 10 within the rankings since Nadal in 2005.

Alcaraz might meet No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in quarterfinals. The potential quarterfinals on the opposite half of the bracket are No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in opposition to No. 7 Andrey Rublev in a matchup between two Russians who is not going to be allowed to compete at Wimbledon due to that nation’s invasion of Ukraine, and 2021 runner-up Stefano Tsitsipas in opposition to No. 8 Casper Ruud.