French Open 2018 Draw: Rafael Nadal Could Face Novak Djokovic In Final

Rafael Nadal's path to the French Open final was revealed when the draw was made Thursday as the Spaniard looks to extend his record to an 11th crown in Paris.

Nadal heads into Roland Garros fresh off his third title of the year following his win at the Rome Masters last week and will begin his defense of the French Open against Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov, having won seven of his nine encounters against the 29-year-old.

Nadal could then face one of Joao Sousa or Guido Pella in the second round, both of whom he has a 100 percent record over, before a potential round of 32 encounter with France's Richard Gasquet.

The road then gets tougher as the 31-year-old could face either Jack Sock or Denis Shapovalov in the last 16 before a possible quarterfinal clash with US Open finalist Kevin Anderson or Diego Schwartzman.

Marin Cilic, who has made two of the last three Grand Slam finals, could await Nadal in the semifinals before the latter could face a number of opponents from the other side of the draw in the final, the most notable one being Novak Djokovic.

Djokovic is looking to get his career back on track and showed very promising signs at the Rome Masters where he put in a competitive display in a straight-set loss to Nadal in the semifinals.

The Serbian does not have an easy path though, as while he faces a qualifier in his first round match, he could take on Spain's David Ferrer in the second round.

Another Spaniard in Roberto Bautista Agut could await in the third round before a possible fourth-round clash with Grigor Dimitrov. The 12-time Grand Slam winner then faces the prospect of facing one of David Goffin, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Nick Kyrgios or Gael Monfils in the last eight before a likely semifinal meeting with either Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev.

Meanwhile, in the women's draw, the notably unseeded Serena Williams will look to win a fourth French Open title as she begins her campaign in a first-ever meeting against Kristyna Pliskova.

Potential second and third round meetings could see the American face Ashleigh Barty and then one of Julia Gorges and Dominika Cibulkova respectively but most interestingly, Williams could renew her rivalry with Maria Sharapova in the last 16.

A 2016 French Open final rematch against Garbine Muguzura could follow in the quarterfinals before a meeting with current No. 1 Simona Halep in the last four. Should Williams reach the final, she will then likely face one of Elina Svitolina or Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki.

Latvia's 20-year-old Jelena Ostapenko is the reigning women's champion. The French Open takes place from May 27 to June 10.