Draw revealed: Djokovic, Nadal, Alcaraz share same half

The draw for men's and women's singles at Roland-Garros 2022 was unveiled on Thursday, throwing some explosive showdowns and highly-anticipated potential meetings down the road.

Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic will open against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka and could face 13-time Roland-Garros winner Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic and Nadal share the same half with sixth-seeded Carlos Alcaraz and third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz.

>> CHECK OUT THE MEN'S SINGLES DRAW HERE

As the reigning champion, Djokovic attended the draw and was asked about having full crowds back in the stands.

"It's amazing to see the amount of people that came this week during the qualifying week and also the practice sessions on Centre Court and Suzanne-Lenglen court," said the Serbian world No.1, who will turn 35 on the first day of the tournament on Sunday.

"You can see how much they miss tennis, and how passionate they are. For us it's an incredible feeling to have the crowd, particularly for me at this stage in my career. They're a big reason why I still play.

"The energy you get from the crowd, the excitement is something very important for us."

Daniil Medvedev is the No.2 seed and is projected to possibly face familiar foe No.7 seed Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.

Last year's finalist and No.4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Norwegian No.8 seed Casper Ruud could await Medvedev in the semi-finals.

World No.1 and 2020 champion Iga Swiatek headlines the women's draw and will begin her 2022 journey in Paris against a qualifier.

Swiatek, who is on a 28-match winning streak, could square off with 2018 champion Simona Halep in the last-16 - the pair practised together on Wednesday - with eighth seed Karolina Pliskova standing ahead as a potential quarter-final opponent.

>> CHECK OUT THE WOMEN'S SINGLES DRAW

No.3 seed Paula Badosa and No.7 seed Aryna Sabalenka share a quarter and could face Swiatek in the semi-finals.

Title holder Barbora Krejcikova is the No.2 seed and landed in the same quarter as Estonian No.5 seed Anett Kontaveit.

Greek fourth seed Maria Sakkari and Tunisian sixth seed Ons Jabeur are possible semi-final opponents for Krejcikova.

"Last year was extremely amazing, I think the results i had during that year was something incredible. I'm happy it happened but I can't say I expected it," Krejcikova said during the trophy ceremony.

"I'm super happy to be back here. I hope it's going to be a good year again. This clay suits me and I'm looking forward to it."