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Rafael Nadal was drawn against Alexander Zverev in the first round of the 2024 French Open. Andre Agassi's ex-coach Brad Gilbert commented on it and explained that Nadal being unseeded was the reason for such a first-round match-up.
The Roland Garros draw took place on Thursday (May 23) at the L'Orangerie and French three-time Olympic gold medallist Marie-Jose Perec was the special guest.
The women's draw took place first and it was revealed that World No. 1 Iga Swiatek will take on a qualifier/lucky loser in the first round. The defending champion could face Naomi Osaka in the second round of the tournament.
The men's draw took place later and fourth-seed Zverev was drawn against unseeded Nadal. The 14-time French Open winner faces a tough test in the first round against the reigning Italian Open champion.
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Agassi's ex-coach Gilbert, who is currently mentoring Coco Gauff, took to his X account to explain how Nadal drew Zverev. Gilbert mentioned how an unseeded player could go up against any of the other 127 participants in the first round.
"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," Gilbert wrote on X.
Zverev is ranked World No. 4 and seeded fourth for the 2024 French Open. Meanwhile, an unseeded Nadal ranks 276th in the world.
Rafael Nadal will face Alexander Zverev in a rematch of their French Open 2022 SF clash
Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal have met 10 times on the ATP Tour so far. Nadal has won seven of the 10 matches with the most recent one coming at the Roland Garros two years ago.
Nadal led that match 7-6 (8), 6-6 before Zverev suffered a freak ankle injury which forced him to retire. The Spaniard went on to defeat Casper Ruud in the final that year to win the tournament. The 2022 French Open was Nadal's last Grand Slam title.
Zverev completed his recovery and recently won his first Masters 1000 title since getting injured. He bagged the 2024 Italian Open by defeating Nicolas Jarry in the final in Rome. Meanwhile, Nadal was convincingly defeated by eventual quarterfinalist Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
The 11th meeting between Alexander Zverev and Rafael Nadal will take place on May 26.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
