Roland Garros men's draw: Rafael Nadal's first-round opponent is...Alexander Zverev!

PARIS—Debates were had, cases were made, matches were contemplated.

On T2's Second Serve, Chris Eubanks said that Rafael Nadal—ranked 276th, but the owner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles—should be a Top 16 seed at Roland Garros. Today in Paris, a colleague made the (rather convincing) argument that if you win a tournament 14 times, and get a statue erected for it, you should be seeded no less than No. 1.

But although Roland Garros had the right to see Rafa wherever it wanted, it elected not to—which gave fans the possibility of a first-round match that defied all logic.

If that's what the clay-court major was after, it delivered.

When Nadal's name was drawn onto Line 34, it meant that a big name was coming his way. The "first" first-round match of the second quarter must feature a Top 8 seed, and shortly after, that Top 8 seed was revealed: Alexander Zverev.

The same Zverev that just won the Rome Masters, and the same Zverev that took pushed Nadal to the limit on the terre battue two years ago in the ir semifinal. That before Zverev suffered a gruesome injury, and before Nadal went on to win his last Grand Slam title to date.

Here's guessing you're going to tune into this rematch.

Nadal was also drawn into Novak Djokovic's half of the bracket. The top-ranked Serbian will open his tournament against Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert, and could face another fan favorite—Gael Monfils—in round three.

If that wasn't enough, a pair of three-time Grand Slam champions will meet in the first round: Stan Wawrinka vs. Andy Murray.

World No. 2 Jannik Sinner will meet Chris Eubanks, while No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz opens with a qualifier or lucky loser.