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The Quebecer could find on his way in the round of 16 the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, and in the next round the favorite of the tournament, the Serbian Novak Djokovic.
For his part, Denis Shapovalov will have an appointment with the Dane Holger Rune in the first round. Shapovalov, the 14e seed of the tournament, will therefore face for the first time in his career Rune, 40e world player, on Parisian clay.
Djokovic, who is the reigning champion at Roland-Garros, finds himself in the same portion of the table as Nadal and his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic had disposed of Nadal in the quarter-finals of the tournament last year.
Nadal has 21 career Grand Slam titles, one more than Djokovic and Roger Federer. This will be the first major tournament of the “Djoker” since the United States Open last year. He was unable to play at the Australian Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.
If a Djokovic-Nadal duel materializes in the quarter-finals, then the winner could cross paths with the sixth seed, Alcaraz, in the semi-finals. Alcaraz, just 19, recently won the Madrid Open on clay and became the youngest tennis player to break into the world top-10 since Nadal in 2005.
Alcaraz could face third seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. The other potential quarter-finals on the men’s side could oppose the Russian Daniil Medvedev (no 2) to his compatriot Andrey Rublev (no 7) — a duel that may never take place at Wimbledon due to tournament organizers imposing sanctions on Russian players due to the invasion of Ukraine — and 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Norwegian Casper Ruudo 8).
Fernandez vs. Mladenovic
Among the ladies, Leylah Annie Fernandez will start her tournament against the local favorite, Kristina Mladenovic. The Quebecer, 17e seeded, never crossed swords in career against Mladenovic, 110e in the world.
Photo DARRYL DYCK, archives The Canadian Press
Leylah Annie Fernandez
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For her part, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu, 72e world racket, will face a qualified player in the first round. The 2019 US Open champion may next face Fernandez in the third round.
Briton-Colombienne Rebecca Marino, 116e world player, could join Fernandez and Andreescu in the women’s main draw. However, she will have to win against the Australian Seone, 223e in the world, in the third and final qualifying round on Friday morning.
In addition, the return of Naomi Osaka to Paris is likely to be full-bodied since she will be confronted with the player who had beaten her at the Australian Open, Amanda Anisimova.
Osaka has won four career Grand Slam titles and once held No. 1 in the world, before plummeting to 38e step due to an extended break in his activities. In particular, she took a break to restore her psychological health, after withdrawing from the French Open tournament before her second round match last year due to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Since she is not a seed at the French Open, she could have faced a seed in the first round. This is the reason why she will cross swords with Anisimova (no 27).
The latter had defeated Osaka 4-6, 6-3 and 7-6 (5) in the third round at Melbourne Park in January.
Among the other potential quarter-finals in Paris are those between the no 1 and 2020 tournament champion Iga Swiatek and Karolina Pliskova, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova and Anett Kontaveit, Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka, as well as Ons Jabeur against Maria Sakkari.
The French Open will officially start on Sunday.
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The Quebecer could find on his way in the round of 16 the Spaniard Rafael Nadal, and in the next round the favorite of the tournament, the Serbian Novak Djokovic.
For his part, Denis Shapovalov will have an appointment with the Dane Holger Rune in the first round. Shapovalov, the 14e seed of the tournament, will therefore face for the first time in his career Rune, 40e world player, on Parisian clay.
Djokovic, who is the reigning champion at Roland-Garros, finds himself in the same portion of the table as Nadal and his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic had disposed of Nadal in the quarter-finals of the tournament last year.
Nadal has 21 career Grand Slam titles, one more than Djokovic and Roger Federer. This will be the first major tournament of the “Djoker” since the United States Open last year. He was unable to play at the Australian Open due to his COVID-19 vaccination status.
If a Djokovic-Nadal duel materializes in the quarter-finals, then the winner could cross paths with the sixth seed, Alcaraz, in the semi-finals. Alcaraz, just 19, recently won the Madrid Open on clay and became the youngest tennis player to break into the world top-10 since Nadal in 2005.
Alcaraz could face third seed Alexander Zverev in the quarter-finals. The other potential quarter-finals on the men’s side could oppose the Russian Daniil Medvedev (no 2) to his compatriot Andrey Rublev (no 7) — a duel that may never take place at Wimbledon due to tournament organizers imposing sanctions on Russian players due to the invasion of Ukraine — and 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Norwegian Casper Ruudo 8).
Fernandez vs. Mladenovic
Among the ladies, Leylah Annie Fernandez will start her tournament against the local favorite, Kristina Mladenovic. The Quebecer, 17e seeded, never crossed swords in career against Mladenovic, 110e in the world.
Photo DARRYL DYCK, archives The Canadian Press
Leylah Annie Fernandez
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For her part, Ontario’s Bianca Andreescu, 72e world racket, will face a qualified player in the first round. The 2019 US Open champion may next face Fernandez in the third round.
Briton-Colombienne Rebecca Marino, 116e world player, could join Fernandez and Andreescu in the women’s main draw. However, she will have to win against the Australian Seone, 223e in the world, in the third and final qualifying round on Friday morning.
In addition, the return of Naomi Osaka to Paris is likely to be full-bodied since she will be confronted with the player who had beaten her at the Australian Open, Amanda Anisimova.
Osaka has won four career Grand Slam titles and once held No. 1 in the world, before plummeting to 38e step due to an extended break in his activities. In particular, she took a break to restore her psychological health, after withdrawing from the French Open tournament before her second round match last year due to symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Since she is not a seed at the French Open, she could have faced a seed in the first round. This is the reason why she will cross swords with Anisimova (no 27).
The latter had defeated Osaka 4-6, 6-3 and 7-6 (5) in the third round at Melbourne Park in January.
Among the other potential quarter-finals in Paris are those between the no 1 and 2020 tournament champion Iga Swiatek and Karolina Pliskova, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova and Anett Kontaveit, Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka, as well as Ons Jabeur against Maria Sakkari.
The French Open will officially start on Sunday.
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