The French Open starts Sunday and now that the draw are set, some of the most intriguing matches include two of the top players in the world, as Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are on a collision course in the semifinals after playing in the finals last year, which Nadal won yet again for his seventh title.
Djokovic just recently defeated Nadal on clay, but the Spanish star has been fantastic otherwise during his return from a knee injury that kept him out of the US Open last year, winning five clay titles so far this season and he is the favorite once again at Roland Garros for the major starting on Sunday. Djokovic will be a tough test in the semis if the two meet and Nadal is looking to add another title to his mantle, while Djokovic is still chasing the elusive clay major. The men's draw will have a bit less star power without Andy Murray and Juan Martin del Potro, while Nadal will play Daniel Brands in the first round and could face Richard Gasquet later down the line.
Serena Williams is the favorite on the women's side, but last years winner Maria Sharapova will be lurking as well. Williams is playing some of the best tennis of her career with a record career winning streak and she is expected to win the clay major again with Nadal. The last Defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal was drawn in the same half as world number one Novak Djokovic on Friday as the Spanish claycourt machine chases a record eighth title at Roland Garros.
Nadal has won five titles on clay this season after missing out on more than seven months of tennis, sitting out of Wimbledon, the U.S. Open and the Australian Open. Djokovic, who opens his Paris campaign against Belgian David Goffin, is also lined up for a possible third-round match against talented Bulgarian youngster Grigor Dimitrov.
Swiss Roger Federer, who has a record 17 grand slam titles to his name, has a smooth-looking path until a potential quarter-final against French sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
World number two Andy Murray pulled out with back problems and Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, ranked seventh, is also missing from the draw due to illness. Williams will take on Georgia's Anna Tatishvili in the first round on her way to a potential quarter-final match-up with former world number one Caroline Wozniacki who will start against Britain's Laura Robson.
Asked if she felt as good as in her golden years, Williams told a news conference: "I think so. Just looking back at a few of my matches years ago and looking now, I definitely feel like I'm getting into that zone that I have always wanted to be in, and I feel a lot better about it." Sharapova, who was drawn against Taipei's Hsieh Su-Wei in the first round, withdrew from the Italian Open because of illness last week, but she is now fine.
"I have been practicing for almost five or six days now, which has been nice," she told a news conference.
"I haven't been back since my victory (at the French Open), so it has been nice to be able to practice on the courts when it's quiet and be back on center court."
(Reuters Quotes)