Sinner and Djokovic cannot meet before the Roland-Garros final as Chatrier readies for Fils-Wawrinka and Monfils-Gaston
With Alcaraz absent, the world No. 1 starts as the clear favourite against a field led by Zverev, Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime, while two French wildcard veterans bid Porte d’Auteuil farewell.
Novak Djokovic, Roland-Garros 2026 | © JB Autissier / PsNewz
Ultra favourite Jannik Sinner (seed No. 1) and Novak Djokovic (No. 3, all-time Grand Slam titles record holder) landed in opposite halves of the Roland-Garros men’s draw on Thursday, meaning the world No. 1 and the three-time champion cannot meet before the final on Sunday 7 June in what would be the remake of their Australian Open semifinal.
If the seeds hold, the projected semi-finals are Sinner against Felix Auger-Aliassime (4) and Alexander Zverev (No. 2), the 2024 finalist, against Djokovic, with a Sinner-Zverev final to follow.
The projected quarter-finals read:
• Sinner against Ben Shelton (5);
• Felix Auger-Aliassime against Daniil Medvedev (8);
• Djokovic against Alex de Minaur (6);
• Zverev against Taylor Fritz (7).
Auger-Aliassime, at his career-best Slam seeding, draws the Russian who has never totally made peace with the surface despite a promising semi-final in Rome last week, where he took one set off Sinner before going down 6-2, 5-7, 6-4.
Round four projects the heaviest collisions. Sinner would meet Luciano Darderi (14), the Italian who has one of the best track records on Tour on this surface, highlighted by a recent semi-final in Rome. 16:04
Djokovic would have a massive test against Casper Ruud (15), two-time Roland-Garros finalist (2022, 2023) and last week’s Rome runner-up. Djokovic beat Ruud in the 2023 final but couldn’t face him in the 2024 quarter-finals and had to withdraw. Getting that far is no formality either: a projected third round against 19-year-old João Fonseca (26) stands in the way.
In the lower part of the draw, Rafael Jódar — the 19-year-old Spaniard with quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome on his clay résumé this spring — has a genuine opening to challenge Zverev and Fritz for the semi-final place. He would play Fritz in the third round.
The projected fourth round:
• Sinner against Luciano Darderi (14);
• Shelton against Alexander Bublik (9);
• Auger-Aliassime against Valentin Vacherot (16);
• Medvedev against Flavio Cobolli (10);
• De Minaur against Andrey Rublev (11);
• Djokovic against Casper Ruud (15);
• Fritz against Jiri Lehecka (12).
• Zverev against Karen Khachanov (13);
The first round delivered some early headline stories. Arthur Fils (No.17), France’s top-ranked player, has been drawn against Stan Wawrinka (unseeded, wildcard) in what is set to be the Swiss’s final Roland-Garros. Gaël Monfils (unseeded, wildcard), also playing his last Roland-Garros, drew fellow Frenchman and fellow wildcard Hugo Gaston (unseeded, wildcard) in an all-French opener.
The other notable openers are Djokovic against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (unseeded), the greatest returner of all time against one of the tour’s biggest serves; Zverev against Benjamin Bonzi (unseeded) in front of a hostile Paris crowd; 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas (unseeded) against Alexandre Müller (unseeded); and the 17-year-old wildcard Moïse Kouamé (unseeded, wildcard) against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic (unseeded) on his Grand Slam main-draw debut.
Third round’s traffic
Round three brings further French traffic. Sinner is projected to meet Corentin Moutet (30), the home crowd’s most combustible presence. Zverev would face Ugo Humbert (32), another Frenchman, another hostile atmosphere. Fritz could meet Rafael Jódar (unseeded), the 19-year-old Spaniard who has gone 15-3 on clay this season, with quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome. Djokovic projects to João Fonseca (26), the 19-year-old Brazilian fearless enough to make it interesting.
Sinner arrives carrying a 34-match Masters 1000 winning streak, having taken Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome to complete the Career Golden Masters, and seeking the only Grand Slam missing from his collection. He was one point from it last year, against Carlos Alcaraz, in the longest Roland-Garros final ever played. Alcaraz is not in this draw. That changes the maths. It does not change the man who has to come through it.
