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PARIS. – Defending French Open tennis champion Novak Djokovic, 13-time winner Rafael Nadal and new teenage star Carlos Alcaraz were drawn in the same half of Roland-Garros on Thursday.

World No. 1 Djokovic and Nadal, ranked five, are seeded to meet as early as the quarterfinals. Alcaraz (19) is bidding to become just the eighth teenager to win a Grand Slam men’s title. He could face either Djokovic or Nadal, who holds a record 21 majors, in the semifinals in a top-heavy draw for the second Grand Slam of the season.

“I am very motivated to play my best tennis,” said two-time Roland-Garros champion and 20-time major winner Djokovic.

“In Paris, I always play very strong. Last year, it was the toughest major that I had won.”

Djokovic had to twice come from two sets down last year to beat Lorenzo Musetti in the last-16 and Stefanos Tsitspas in the final having also beaten Nadal from a set behind in a bruising semifinal.

“Musetti, Rafa, Tsitsipas – every match lasted more than three hours. It was exhausting but I loved the outcome.”

Djokovic, who celebrates his 35th birthday tomorrow, the opening day at Roland-Garros, faces 94th-ranked Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan in the first round. Djokovic defeated Nishioka in straight sets in the Australian Open third round in 2020. He will be fired up to defend his title having been deported from Melbourne in January because of his refusal to get vaccinated.

Nadal starts against Australia’s Jordan Thompson as he looks to extend his Roland-Garros record of only three defeats in 108 matches at the tournament since his title-winning debut in 2005.

Thompson, ranked at 82, made the third round in Paris in 2019 before losing to Juan Martin del Potro.

Nadal arrived at Roland-Garros looking to shake off the recurrence of a long-term foot injury which saw him limp to an early defeat in Rome last week where Djokovic claimed a sixth title in the Italian capital.

The Spaniard could face 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka in the second round. – AFP.