Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz could meet in French Open semi-final

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were drawn in the same half of the French Open, meaning a potential semi-final between the two tournament favourites is possible in the most open men’s singles draw at Roland Garros in 19 years.

After regaining his No 1 ranking at the Italian Open last week, Alcaraz will begin a grand slam tournament as the top seed for the first time in his career and he will start against a qualifier or lucky loser.

Should 20-year-old Alcaraz and 36-year-old Djokovic meet in the semi-final, it would be their first contest in over a year, dating back to Alcaraz’s victory over Djokovic in the Madrid Open. The 14-time champion Rafael Nadal withdrew from the tournament last week as he announced he would be taking a break after his recent injury struggles.

Before Alcaraz considers the prospect of a semi-final with Djokovic, other big names are looming in his section. He could potentially face 2021 Roland Garros runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, the fifth seed, in the quarter-final.

Djokovic was unexpectedly pushed down to the third seeding as a result of Daniil Medvedev’s surprise first career ATP clay court title in Rome. In the bottom half, Medvedev starts against a qualifier, while Casper Ruud, the fourth seed, and eighth seed Jannik Sinner head the lower half of that section.

There are no British players in the women’s draw after six Britons were defeated in the qualifying round earlier this week. This tournament will mark the first time since the 2009 US Open that no British players will feature in the main draw of a grand slam.

Iga Swiatek remains the tournament favourite as she looks for her third Roland Garros title after an injury scare at the Italian Open last week. Swiatek, who begins her tournament