2023 French Open Draw: No Nadal, Djokovic and Alcaraz in same half

The 2023 French Open draw is out, and it’s the first time since 2004 that there’s no Rafael Nadal in the list of 128 players.

The tournament kicks off on Sunday, 28th May, and sees Novak Djokovic land in the same half as Carlos Alcaraz after being bumped into the 3rd seed spot after Daniil Medvedev’s Rome title notched him up 1000 ranking points.

In the bottom half, Medvedev is joined by Casper Ruud, the fourth seed, and he is projected to meet the Russian in the semi-final. He may have to see off Holger Rune first, giving him a chance to avenge his loss at the Italian Open last week.

You can see the list of seeds and full draw below.

Tournament Info

2023 French Open Seeds

• 1. Carlos Alcaraz
  2. Daniil Medvedev
  3. Novak Djokovic
  4. Casper Ruud
  5. Stefanos Tsitsipas
  6. Holger Rune
  7. Andrey Rublev
  8. Jannik Sinner
  9. Taylor Fritz
  10. Felix Auger-Aliassime
  11. Karen Khachanov
  12. Frances Tiafoe
  13. Hubert Hurkacz
  14. Cameron Norrie
  15. Borna Coric
  16. Tommy Paul
  17. Lorenzo Musetti
  18. Alex de Minaur
  19. Roberto Bautista Agut
  20. Daniel Evans
  21. Jan-Lennard Struff
  22. Alexander Zverev
  23. Francisco Cerundolo
  24. Sebastian Korda
  25. Botic van de Zandschulp
  26. Denis Shapovalov
  27. Yoshihito Nishioka
  28. Grigor Dimitrov
  29. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina
  30. Ben Shelton
  31. Miomir Kecmanovic
  32. Bernabe Zapata Miralles

2023 French Open Draw

Top Half

Bottom Half

Full PDF printable draw.

Thoughts on the Draw

In the top half of the draw, Alcaraz sits as the top seed, and he has a manageable draw, potentially facing Cameron Norrie, one of the few players to beat the Spaniard this year in the fourth round.

Tstisipas is the second-highest seed in Alcaraz’s quarter. There don’t appear to be too many roadblocks for the Greek, with Auger-Aliassime struggling for form along with several other North Americans in this section, like Korda and Isner, who aren’t solid performers on clay, so I would be surprised not to see an Alcaraz vs Tsitsipas last eight clash.

Djokovic slots in as the third seed in the bottom section of the top half, with Andrey Rublev as his seeded quarter-final opponent.

The two-time champion also has a very manageable draw. He could face Davidovich Fokina in the third round, which could be interesting, but I am not sure Fokina can choose the right shots to play over five sets to defeat Djokovic.

Hurkazcs is Djokovic’s seeded fourth-round opponent, but the Pole has been underwhelming the last few weeks and hasn’t been past the last sixteen at any of the four clay court tournaments he has played.

Andrey Rublev is the 7th seed and will face Laslo Djere in the first round, which is a tough opening match. Should he get through that and progress further, Karen Khachanov is a potential foe in the fourth round.

Former champion Stan Wawrinka is also in this section but will have to come through Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round, which is not an easy task as the Spaniard makes you work for every single point.

In the bottom half of the draw, Daniil Medvedev grabbed the 2nd seed spot thanks to his performance in Rome and will face a qualifier in his opening match,

The Russian could face Etchverry in the third round, who should give him a game, and Borna Coric is his seeded fourth-round opponent. The Croat is yet to make it past the third round in Paris in seven previous attempts, so that section looks pretty wide open.

Dominic Thiem, who snook into the draw via direct acceptance, is also in this bottom quarter and will face Pedro Cachin. Like Wawrinka vs Ramos-Vinolas, this is not an easy match for the former finalist.

In the top section of the bottom half, Casper Ruud is the fourth seed and could face Sascha Bublik in the second round, which proved an exciting match in Rome.

He could then face Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round before a fourth round with Jan Lennard Struff, now seeded 21 after his epic run in Madrid.

Ruud’s Rome conqueror, Holger Rune, is his seeded quarter-final opponent, with only really Francisco Cerundolo or Taylor Fritz capable of troubling him before reaching that stage.

So, no Nadal means that Novak has a significant opportunity to grab his third French Open or for someone else to step up to the plate.

The French can play quite differently, so we will no doubt see some upsets and maybe some of the bigger hitters doing well in the early rounds. 

First-Round Matches of Note

What are your thoughts on the draw? Let me know in the comments.