Murray/Wawarinka and Djokovic/Nadal on Same Sides of the Draw

With the main draw out, it seems like the French Open is really under way.

In the upper half of the draw it seems like we have a lot of strong contenders, especially Alexander Zverev.

If all goes well we could be looking at a Murray and Zverev quarterfinals, which will probably be Murray’s trickiest match. Both athletes have only played each other once, that too in the 2016 Australian Open, where Zverev and the surface where entirely different.

If Murray pulls through he will probably face Wawarinka in the semifinals, as long as Wawarinka doesn’t have a mental mishap on the way there. In the event of a Murray and Wawarinka semifinal, I would place my bets on Wawarinka to not only win the match but win the entire tournament. Considering Wawarinka’s strong performance in the Geneva Open where he is the finals to be played today, we can assume that he’s peaking at the right time, and as a former French Open champion, the idea of being champion once again doesn’t seem too far off.

In the lower half of the draw, everyone’s eyes are on Nadal. Nadal’s pathway to the semifinal seems clear, the only threats being players like Raonic and Dimitrov. While Tsonga is always a looming threat, it doesn’t seem like he will be about to pull any major upsets.

Djokovic doesn’t seem to face any real threats until he reaches the quarterfinals, where he would be facing Dominic Thiem. Taking previous stats into account, Djokovic is the clear favorite with a 5-0 head-to-head lead, with one of those matches being recently on outdoor clay at the Italian Open. The score wasn’t even close, with Djokovic cruising through 6-1, 6-0. However, this could be in Thiem’s favor. As the underdog Thiem may be able to cause an upset.

Ultimately however, I would place my bets on a Nadal/Djokovic semifinal in the lower half of the draw. Now this match will be a toughy. Everyone knows that when both these athletes are playing at a high level things can get lengthy and intense.

Ultimately though, whoever reaches the final, whether it be Nadal or Djokovic, will face a tough time beating Wawarinka, who could just end up being the victor nobody expected.