Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic could meet in the Italian Open final after being positioned on opposite sides of the draw.

Nadal, a record 10-time champion at the tournament, could meet reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals should they both get that far, while newly crowned Madrid Open winner Andrey Rublev would be a potential semi-final opponent.

The Spaniard, who will be featuring at the event for the final time, will open his campaign against a qualifier, with Hubert Hurkacz a potential second-round opponent. 

In the top half of the draw, Djokovic will take on either Roman Safiullin or a qualifier in his first competitive appearance since the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he was beaten by Casper Ruud.

The Serbian, who is just two wins away from his 1100th tour-level career victory, could face Ruud in the quarter-finals in Rome, with the Norwegian taking the fifth seed.

Two big names are absent from the men's draw with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner both withdrawing through injury, so Alexander Zverev is the third seed and a potential semi-final opponent for Djokovic.  

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are positioned on opposite sides of the draw.#IBI24 pic.twitter.com/vTZ7SPQT8F

— Internazionali BNL d'Italia (@InteBNLdItalia) May 6, 2024

Meanwhile, world number one Iga Swiatek has been drawn in the opposite half of the draw to Elena Rybakina, the reigning Italian Open champion.

Swiatek is projected to face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals for the second consecutive WTA 1000 event, should they both progress that far.

Rybakina is due to meet second seed Aryna Sabalenka at the same stage, having lost to the Belarusian at last week’s Madrid Open semi-finals.