Naomi Osaka gets rematch as she returns to French Open

PARIS –

Naomi Osaka’s return to the French Open shall be a troublesome take a look at towards the participant who beat her on the Australian Open, Amanda Anisimova.

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

Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who was No. 1 within the rankings however has slipped to No. 38 partially due to a scarcity of exercise. That included day 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 just isn’t seeded on the French Open, the place play begins Sunday, she was not protected from dealing with a seeded opponent straight away, in order that’s what is going to occur towards No. 27 Anisimova.

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

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

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

Djokovic, who’s the defending champion and seeded No. 1, may 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 match 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 towards COVID-19.

If that Djokovic-Nadal showdown occurs, the winner may face No. 6 seed Alcaraz within the semifinals. Alcaraz is simply 19, just lately gained 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 may meet No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in quarterfinals. The potential quarterfinals on the opposite half of the bracket are No. 2 Daniil Medvedev towards 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 towards No. 8 Casper Ruud.