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Rafael Nadal returns to action at his favourite tournament on Monday – but he faces his trickiest French Open opener for many years.
The Spanish great, a record 14-time champion at Roland Garros, faces fourth seed Alexander Zverev at about 14:00 BST.
It had seemed like this would be the 37-year-old’s final French Open appearance but he said earlier this week he would not “close the door” on extending his career.
Consequently, a planned farewell ceremony has been scrapped by tournament organisers.
Women’s top seed and three-time champion Iga Swiatek is also in action as she looks to continue her recent Roland Garros dominance.
Meanwhile, British number one Cameron Norrie begins his tournament against Pavel Kotov, while Harriet Dart takes on Linda Noskova.
Nadal has won the French Open more than any other major, with his most recent victory coming in 2022.
Given his success at Roland Garros, tournament organisers are keen to mark his final appearance.
Nadal was widely believed to be retiring at the end of the season, but French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo says Nadal told her he is yet to make up his mind.
She said: “As you can imagine, we had something planned for him.
“He wants to leave the door open for him maybe to come back next year as a player. So we’re not going to push him obviously to do anything.
“It’s his decision when he wants to have a proper ceremony. So we’re not going to do it this year.”
Injuries have hampered Nadal in recent years and he returns to Paris ranked 275th.
Despite his past success it is a tough first round for him against Italian Open champion Zverev, who many expect to challenge for the title.
