PARIS — Rafael Nadal’s French Open swansong will begin with a blockbuster clash against Alexander Zverev as Iga Swiatek is a heavy favorite to win her fourth career French Open title.
Nadal is set to play at the tournament he has won on a record 14 occasions for the final time, and he has his work cut out if he is to make it beyond the opening round.
Zverev climbed to world number four on the back of winning the Italian Open in Rome at the weekend and heads into the year’s second grand slam as one of the favourites
Nadal won the title on his last appearance on the Parisian clay in 2022 but has played only four tournaments in the last year and a half because of hip problems and was well beaten by Hubert Hurkacz in the second round in Rome.
Andy Murray is also set to make his final French Open appearance and incredibly will play Stan Wawrinka for a third time in a row at Roland Garros.
Wawrinka won an epic semi-final in 2017 that was the start of Murray’s hip problems, and the Scot’s only match in Paris since was a one-sided loss to the veteran Swiss four years ago.
Murray returned from nearly two months out with an ankle injury last week but has won only one match on clay this season.
World number one Djokovic, 37, who defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets in last year’s final, will be bidding for a record-breaking 25th grand slam title but has struggled for form this year.
Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek will launch the defence of her title against a qualifier or lucky loser and could play four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka in the second round.
Men’s world number two Jannik Sinner will play American Christopher Eubanks providing he has recovered sufficiently from a hip injury while two-time grand slam winner Carlos Alcaraz, who is also short on matches because of a forearm problem, faces a qualifier or lucky loser.
British number one Katie Boulter, seeded for the first time at a grand slam at number 26, faces a tough opener against former top-10 star Paula Badosa, while Harriet Dart has also been handed a difficult draw against 27th seed Linda Noskova.
Swiatek, who turns 23 next week, was announced as the top seed. Osaka has slipped to No. 48 in the world and faces Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in her opener. Osaka could also face No. 3 seed Coco Gauff in the semi-finals and No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the final, Reuters reported.
While Collins did win the Miami Open this year, her best previous showing at Roland Garros was the quarter-finals in 2020.
That was the year of Swiatek’s first French Open title, and she enters this year as the two-time defending champion. She will begin her latest title defense against a qualifier or a lucky loser.
Swiatek also faces potential matches against former French Open winner Barbora Krejcikova in the fourth round and Collins or Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova in the quarter-finals.
Swiatek has been dominant on the surface, winning the tune-up tournaments in Madrid and Rome. She is seeking to join Chris Evert (seven titles), Steffi Graf (six) and Justine Henin (four) as the only four-time winners in Paris in the Open Era.
Sabalenka will meet Erika Andreeva of Russia in the first round, while Gauff drew a qualifier or lucky loser in the opener.
The fourth-seeded Rybakina will open against Greet Minnen of Belgium.
Discussion about this post