Major encounter for the Paris kick-off - Zverev encounters Nadal in the opening set.
Alexander Zverev, a highly-regarded German tennis player, will face off against legendary Rafael Nadal in the initial round of the French Open. The pairing was unveiled on Thursday in a ceremony held in Paris.
Nadal is an icon in Paris, having won the tournament a mind-boggling 14 times and being considered one of the finest clay court players to ever grace the sport. Meanwhile, Zverev, ranked fourth in the ATP rankings, is amongst the top seeded players in the tournament, usually assigning him a less challenging first-round opponent. However, this scenario is far from ideal.
Thanks to Nadal's persistent injuries in recent years, which often hampered him in the tournaments he has participated in, he is currently ranked 274th and not initially seeded in the French Open. This creates the perfect conditions for the two tenacious players to collide in the opening round.
Nadal's journey back to the court started earlier this year in April, but he's been knocked out early in all the competitions he's participated in since then. In addition, the Spaniard's game hasn't yet reached its usual level of greatness. On the other hand, Zverev, fresh from his victory in the recent Masters event held in Rome, is far from being a desirable first-round opponent. The fans should be thrilled by this exhilarating matchup.
Another German player, Dominik Koepfer, also faces a stern challenge in his opening round. He will come up against Daniil Medvedev, the fifth-ranked player in the world, posing a difficult conundrum for the German.
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Source: symclub.org