Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz headline French Open entry list

Paris [French], April 18 : Fourteen-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, two-time tournament winner Novak Djokovic and the World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz headline the French Open entry list, orgsers announced on Tuesday.

With the start of the qualifying competition for the Parisian Grand Slam just five weeks away, the entry lists for the main draws of the women's and men's singles have now been revealed.

At the clay-court major, where the Spard has compiled a record of 112-3, Nadal will attempt to add to his long list of victories. Last year, the lefty won his 14th Cup des Mousquetaires after defeating four players who were ranked in the Top 10.

Djokovic, currently the No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings, triumphed on the Parisian clay in 2016 and 2021. The Serbian is 85-16 in the tournament.

Alcaraz will make his third main draw participation at Roland Garros in an effort to win his second major championship. As he reached the quarterfinals of the competition last year, the Spard had his longest run at the competition.

Casper Ruud, last year's finalist, will try to go one step further this year with other players including 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas, Dil Medvedev, Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune, Jannik Sinner and 2015 Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka trying to make their mark.

The current cut for the field is World No. 98 Alexander Shevchenko. Two-time finalist and former World No. 3 Dominic Thiem is the third alternate. Former Top 10 star Fabio Fognini is the fifth alternate. Wild cards are still to be announced.

Seven of the 104 players entering the women's draw have benefitted from rankings protection after returning to the Tour following injury or pregnancy. They include Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (21), the 2021 runner-up, and Elina Svitolina (27), who is back after the birth of her first child. Jennifer Brady (14), Daria Saville (54), Patricia Maria Tig (65), Sara Sorribes Tormo (68) and Kristina Kucova (90) are the five other returning players.