(May 4, 2013) --
Rafael Nadal will not be seeded No. 1 at this month's French Open announced the event's tournament director today in a press conference.
But that doesn't mean he didn't consider it.
According to French newspaper
L'Equipe, Tournament director Gilbert Ysern said that although at one point organizers considered placing Nadal as the No. 1 seed over current World No. 1
Novak Djokovic based on Nadal's incredible record at the event, in the end they decided to leave the seeds as is based on current ATP rankings.
"Given what is Nadal in Paris, the best player in the history of the tournament, it seemed incongruous that we came here with the number 4 or 5," said Ysern."
But ultimately organizers didn't want to be viewed as fiddling with the seedings and were concerned with causing an uproar if they did make a change. Ysern also confirmed that Nadal himself never requested to be seeded higher.
Former French Open Davis Cup captain Guy Forget initially raised the idea of seeding Nadal higher at last month's Monte Carlo event. That sparked a debate within the tennis community for and against the idea.
READ - Opinion: Should Nadal Be Seeded Higher in Paris?
Barring a last minute withdrawal from one of the current top four players, Nadal, defending champion at the event, is expected to be seeded at No. 5 when the French Open draw is made on May 24th.