The draws for the 2015 French Open have been released and there will be some interesting matches to look forward to as Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova seek to successfully defend their titles.
In the men’s draw, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are on opposite sides of each other, while Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych have been placed in these respective halves of the draw.
But the biggest story is that of nine-times champion Rafael Nadal, who has been placed in the same quarter as world number one Djokovic, his lowly seeding of sixth coming about as a result of an unusually poor European clay court swing.
It means that should Djokovic and Nadal get this far their projected quarter-final meeting will be the earliest at any level since the 2007 Rome Masters and the earliest at Grand Slam level since the 2006 French Open.
But first thing’s first – Djokovic will open his bid for a maiden French Open title against Jarkko Nieminen, and could then face Gilles Muller, who gave the Serb a serious challenge at the Australian Open during the second round.
Bernard Tomic then poses the world number one’s first seeded threat in the third round, before local favourite and Estoril champion Richard Gasquet or South African Kevin Anderson await in the round of 16.
Tomic, the 27th seed, could face compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round for the right to face Djokovic in the third round, provided both he and the South Australian get past a qualifier in their first matches.
Nadal will begin his bid for an unprecedented tenth Roland Garros title against French wildcard Quentin Halys, but could then face compatriot and three-time quarter-finalist Nicolas Almagro in the second round.
Either 18th seed Tommy Robredo or tenth seed Grigor Dimitrov would then block his path to a blockbuster quarter-final against Djokovic. Given neither player has yet to beat the Spaniard, the dream quarter-final could and should materialise.
Third seed and recent Madrid champion Andy Murray will start against a qualifier, and could then run into Australia’s Nick Kyrgios in the third round.
The 29th-seeded Kyrgios must first get past Denis Istomin in the first round, and then a qualifier in the second round, to set up this showdown.
Serving machine John Isner shapes as Murray’s biggest fourth-round threat, with 2013 finalist David Ferrer or reigning US Open champion Marin Cilic likely to await in the quarter-finals.
Either Djokovic or Nadal, who could face off in the aforementioned blockbuster top quarter-final, will then stand in the way of Murray reaching the French Open final for the first time.
Second seed and 2009 champion Roger Federer anchors the bottom half of the draw and he will kick off his 17th consecutive French Open campaign against a qualifier, before potentially meeting any of Mikhail Youzhny, Ivo Karlovic or Marcos Baghdatis in the third round.
French showman Gael Monfils, who almost knocked him out of the US Open last year and defeated him at the Monte Carlo Masters recently, could then await in the fourth round. Should Federer get past him, then compatriot and eighth seed Stan Wawrinka will shape as his likely quarter-final opponent.
Wawrinka will start his bid for a second Grand Slam title against Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan but his first seeded threat could come in the form of Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, the 26th-seeded Spaniard who knocked him out in the first round last year.
Fifth seed Kei Nishikori and former semi-finalist Tomas Berdych are favoured to meet in the other bottom half quarter-final, though both have potentially difficult paths to tread on if it is to eventuate.
Last year’s US Open finalist Nishikori starts against French wildcard Paul-Henri Mathieu and could face 32nd seed Fernando Verdasco in Round 3. He may then have to get another seeded Spaniard, either Roberto Bautista-Agut or Feliciano Lopez, in the fourth round in order to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.
Berdych, whose run to the quarter-finals at the Rome Masters last week saw him reach a career high ranking of number four, begins against a qualifier before possibly clashing with compatriot Radek Stepanek in the second round.
Local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who has dropped to 15th in the world rankings following an injury-ravaged start to the season, would then await the Berdman in the fourth round.
Barring any major upsets, the men’s quarter-final line up could unfold as follows:
Quarter-finals
Novak Djokovic versus Rafael Nadal
Andy Murray versus David Ferrer
Kei Nishikori versus Tomas Berdych
Stan Wawrinka versus Roger Federer
Semi-finals
Rafael Nadal versus David Ferrer
Kei Nishikori versus Roger Federer
Final
Rafael Nadal versus Roger Federer
Champion
Rafael Nadal*
*I had predicted that Novak Djokovic would be the champion, but I fear that given how the draw has panned out, Rafael Nadal will be out to prove everyone wrong again. The Spaniard has never lost a Grand Slam quarter or semi-final in Europe.
Now shifting focus to the women and for the second consecutive Grand Slam tournament, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are on opposite sides of the draw and it means that they cannot meet until the final.
World number four Petra Kvitova and last year’s runner-up Simona Halep have been assigned to those respective halves of the draw, which means the latter will have it tough if she is to return to the final in 2015.
Top-seeded Williams will begin her bid for a third French Open title against a qualifier, but she could be in for a tough challenge against 27th-seeded Victoria Azarenka, who very nearly defeated her in Madrid recently, in the third round.
Elder sister Venus could then await in Round 4, but she too has a challenge of her own as she has to deal with compatriot Sloane Stephens in the first round.
Serena’s last eight opponent is likely to be any one of 2014 semi-finalist Andrea Petkovic, 2012 finalist Sara Errani or former world number ones Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic, thus making for an interesting top quarter.
Both Petkovic or Errani face the prospect of losing a load of rankings points as they had faced off in the quarter-finals last year. If they do meet this year, it will be in the third round.
Further down the draw, world number four Petra Kvitova will start off against New Zealand’s Marina Erakovic and shouldn’t be threatened until the fourth round, where she could face her Australian Open third round conqueror, Madison Keys, for a place in the quarter-finals.
If she does manage to reach her first French Open quarter-final since 2012, then her victim in last year’s Wimbledon final, Eugenie Bouchard, looms as her obstacle to a semi-final showdown against Serena Williams.
The Canadian, who risks dropping out of the top ten as she attempts to defend hundreds of points at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon, starts off against local favourite Kristina Mladenovic, who famously upset Li Na in the first round last year.
Bouchard could then face the ever-improving Karolina Pliskova, or former champions Francesca Schiavone or Svetlana Kuznetsova, in the fourth round, should she defy her poor form this season and get this far.
Last year’s finalists Maria Sharapova and Simona Halep anchor the bottom half of the draw and should both of them get this far as expected, then they will face off for a place in the final rather than for the title, as was the case twelve months ago.
Sharapova kicks off her title defence against Estonia’s Kaia Kanepi and could possibly face a tough encounter against Australian Samantha Stosur, whom she defeated in three sets in the fourth round last year, in the third round.
Her projected quarter-final opponent is Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro, whom she defeated to win her third Rome title last week. If all goes to plan, then world number three Halep will await in the semi-finals.
The Romanian will start her chase for a maiden Grand Slam title against Evgeniya Rodina, but could then bump into veteran Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni, who upset her in the third round of the US Open last year, in the second round.
A victor when they met in Madrid recently, Alize Cornet, then awaits in the third round before 14th seed and former Wimbledon finalist Agnieszka Radwanska looms as her fourth round opponent.
Awaiting the Romanian in the last eight could be any of seventh seed Ana Ivanovic, rising star Caroline Garcia or Russian left-hander Ekaterina Makarova, who has yet to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.
Ivanovic, who has struggled for form this year, faces two-time quarter-finalist Yaroslava Shvedova in her opening round match, and could then face Petra Cetkovska, whom she double-bagelled on her way to the 2008 title, in Round 2.
Local favourite Garcia, who has gotten the better of the Serb three times this year, then awaits in the third round before Makarova stands in the way of her and a first French Open quarter-final in seven years.
And so, should the women’s matches unfold without any major upsets, then this could be the potential quarter-final line-up:
Quarter-finals
Serena Williams versus Caroline Wozniacki
Petra Kvitova versus Eugenie Bouchard
Ana Ivanovic versus Simona Halep
Carla Suarez Navarro versus Maria Sharapova
Semi-finals
Serena Williams versus Petra Kvitova
Simona Halep versus Maria Sharapova
Final
Serena Williams versus Maria Sharapova
Champion
Serena Williams
So, those are just some of the highlights from the draw.
Can Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova repeat as champions? Or can Novak Djokovic finally get the better of Rafa and go on to win the French Open for the first time? And how far will Nick Kyrgios and company go?
All those questions are set to be answered when the French Open starts this Sunday night (AEST).
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