IN PARIS, ALCARAZ, DJOKOVIC ON SAME HALF OF MEN’S DRAW

Carlos Alcaraz and the man he just replaced atop the rankings, 22-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, were placed in the same half of the French Open field in Thursday’s draw and could face each other in the semifinals.

Alcaraz is seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time and was automatically placed in the top section of the bracket. Djokovic is No. 3 and so could have ended up on either half — had he landed in the bottom, he and Alcaraz only could have met in the final at Roland Garros, where 14time champion Rafael Nadal will be missing for the first time since he made his debut at the clay-court major in 2005.

Alcaraz, who just turned 20, and Djokovic, who just turned 36, have played each other just once previously, in the semifinals of the Madrid Open in May 2022. Alcaraz won that one 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) — a day after beating Nadal in the quarterfinals, becoming the first player to defeat both Djokovic and Nadal at the same clay-court tournament. Alcaraz went on to collect the title there with a straight-set victory over Alexander Zverev in the final. Play begins Sunday. Typically, the previous year’s singles champions are invited to appear at the draw, so 2022 women’s winner Iga Swiatek was present Thursday. Nadal, of course, was not. Still, he was the first player mentioned at the outset of the ceremony by French Tennis Federation president Gilles Morreton, who noted, “Unfortunately, he cannot play the tournament this year.”

The draw put Swiatek in a potential quarterfinal against No. 6 Coco Gauff in what would be a rematch of last year’s French Open final.

More tennis

Casper Ruud’s run at a third straight Geneva Open title ended in a 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5 loss to Nicolás Jarry in the quarterfinals. The topseeded Ruud had his serve broken at 5-5 in the third set after the 54th-ranked Chilean fired two powerful forehand winners. Secondseeded Taylor Fritz and fourth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov will meet in the other semifinal. Fritz brushed aside Ilya Ivashka 6-1, 6-2 in just 51 minutes in the opening match on court.

Golf

California club pro

Michael Block was living the dream at the PGA Championship. Thursday at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas, brought him back to reality. Block opened with three straight bogeys and finished with three double bogeys over his last four holes of an 11-over 81 that left him in last place and 19 shots behind

Harry Hall in the Charles Schwab Challenge. “I’ve got nothing,” he said to himself after a tee shot on the 13th barely cleared the water and finished on the back left of a green that had a front right pin. Hall had a dream start. The PGA Tour rookie from England took only 22 putts, the last one an 8-foot birdie for an 8-under 62 that gave him a three-shot lead over

Harris English.

• Padraig Harrington shot 8-under 64 in the first competitive round at the new Texas headquarters of the PGA of America for a twoshot lead at the Senior PGA Championship in Frisco, Texas. Japan’s Katsumasa Miyamoto shot 66 and Brazilian Adilson da Silva had a 67 in the Senior PGA debut for both. Phillip Price also shot 67 at PGA Frisco’s Fields Ranch East course, about 35 miles north of Dallas.

• Jorge Campillo birdied his way to 9-under 63 for a three-shot lead after the opening round of the Dutch Open on the European Tour.

Sports and courts

A federal judge granted Churchill Downs’ motion for summary judgment that dismisses Bob Baffert’s claim the track breached due process by suspending the Hall of Fame trainer for two years.

Baffert’s suspension is scheduled to end on June 2, but the track’s release noted its right to extend it “and will communicate our decision” at its conclusion.

• Four people accused of hanging an effigy of Real Madrid player Vinícius Júnior off a highway bridge were released from custody while still under investigation for perpetrating a hate crime.

Soccer

Manchester United secured a return to the Champions League with a 4-1 win over Chelsea. Goals from Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford ensured a victory that means a Premier League top-four finish is now certain in Erik ten Hag’s first year at the club.

NFL

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed Brandon McManus in hopes of upgrading their special teams, two days after Denver dropped the veteran kicker and former team captain. The Jaguars initially waived kicker Riley Patterson to make room for McManus on their 90-man roster for McManus but eventually traded him to Detroit for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in 2026.

• New Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is not taking part in organized team activities as he continues to recover from a broken left foot. Coach Josh McDaniels said that Garoppolo could be held out until July when training camp begins.

Also

Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford will meet in a much anticipated showdown when they fight for the undisputed boxing welterweight championship July 29 in Las Vegas.

• The United States beat the Czech Republic 3-0 to set up a men’s semifinal game against Germany at the ice hockey world championship at Tampere, Finland.