Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz not meeting in French Open final a real shame, believes Paul McNamee

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the semi-finals of the 2023 French Open after they were drawn in the same half of the tournament.

The 20-year-old Spaniard is chasing his first Grand Slam title on clay and his second Major overall while the Serb is aiming for his record 23rd Grand Slam title and his 3rd title at Roland-Garros.

In view of that, former Australian tennis player Paul McNamee thinks it's a 'real shame' that the 'best clay court players' cannot meet in the title clash due to their position in the draw.

He also suggested a minor rule change where the choice between the 3rd and 4th seed should be based on the surface rather than a coin toss. This change would help protect the rankings while also balancing the draw, as per him.

"Real shame Djokovic & Alcaraz, clearly best clay court players, are on same side of draw" McNamee wrote on Twitter. "A great final has gone begging. I think choice btw 3rd & 4th seed should be surface based, not by a coin toss... minor rule change which protects rankings basis but balances draw... yes or no?"

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"Alcaraz would have been with Ruud and Medvedev with Djokovic, potentially setting up a final for the ages" - Paul McNamee

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz pictured at the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open - Day Ten.

Explaining his take, Paul McNamee wrote that if the third and fourth seeds were not drawn, the top half would feature the first and fourth seeds while the bottom half would include the second and third seeds, based on their surface-based merits.

This arrangement would have placed Carlos Alcaraz with Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev with Novak Djokovic, potentially creating an epic final.

"To explain my previous tweet, if seeds 3 & 4 not drawn, 1&4 would be in top half, and 2&3 in bottom half, based on the surface-based merits of 3 & 4. So Alcaraz would have been with Ruud, and Medvedev with Djokovic, potentially setting up a final for the ages," McNamee wrote.

The young Spaniard began his campaign impressively, securing a commanding victory in the first round against Flavio Cobolli. He dominated the match, winning in straight sets with a scoreline of 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to set up a second-round clash with Taro Daniel.

The Serb, too, got off to a strong start in his opening match, comfortably defeating Aleksandar Kovacevic and advancing smoothly to the second round where he will lock horns with Marton Fucsovics.