French Open: Nadal faces Zverev in first round

FILE - Spain's Rafael Nadal, right, and Germany's Alexander Zverev pose before their semifinal of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium Friday, June 3, 2022 in Paris. Plenty of folks have vivid recollections of seeing Nadal display his relentless excellence on a tennis court. That includes the many players who have been on the other side of the net for at least one of his 1,299 professional matches.(AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

PARIS (AP) — Rafael Nadal is in the French Open field, after all, and the 14-time champion was set up for a challenging first-round matchup against Alexander Zverev from Thursday’s draw.

Nadal had been coy about whether he would compete Roland Garros after two seasons of off-and-on action because of injuries, including a surgically repaired hip that forced him to miss his favorite tournament a year ago.

After a loss at the Italian Open this month, Nadal said he needed to think about whether to play in Paris. But he has been practicing on the red clay at Roland Garros this week and his name was officially in the bracket.

Unseeded.

His matchup against the No. 4-ranked Zverev is a rematch of their 2022 semifinal that ended when Zverev tore ligaments in his right ankle.

The French Open begins on Sunday.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis