The French Open draw has been revealed as anticipation builds for the second grand slam of the season at Roland Garros.
Emma Raducanu could face defending champion Iga Swiatek in a blockbuster round two match. Raducanu has shown impressive form on the clay this season, and will play China’s Wang Xinyu in her opening match, but would face four-time champion Swiatek if both players win in round one.
Britain’s Jack Draper arrives at a career-high ranking of fifth in the world after reaching the Madrid final, as he now targets a first win in Paris. Draper will play Mattia Bellucci in round one and has landed in the same quarter as World No 1 Jannik Sinner. Elsewhere, Jacob Fearnley will play Stan Wawrinka and Cameron Norrie meets Daniil Medvedev.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the French Open draw
Tough draw for Iga Swiatek
The defending champion and ‘Queen of Clay’ has not won a title since winning her fourth Roland Garros last year, and dropped to fifth seed ahead of the draw. A difficult draw was possible, but Swiatek’s path to a fifth French Open looks even tougher than expected.
After opening against Rebecca Sramkova, Swiatek could face Emma Raducanu in round two. The former US Open champion still has work to do on clay, and China’s Wang Xinyu should not be overlooked, but has shown improved form on the surface this year and could be dangerous.
The real trouble lies further ahead, though, with Marta Kostyuk in round three and former French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko, who has beaten Swiatek in all six of their meetings, a potential hurdle in the last-16.
Swiatek is also in the same quarter as last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the Italian Open champion, so there could be a rematch of their final in the quarters, with World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng also in the top half.
Speaking of, Sabalenka is probably the favourite ahead of Paris, but Zheng won their last meeting in the Madrid quarters. Meanwhile, it looks to be a very good draw for Coco Gauff, who is in the bottom half. Less so for Swiatek.
Novak Djokovic can avoid early exit
The worst case scenario for Djokovic ahead of returning to Roland Garros would have been a tough draw that threatened to continue the 38-year-old runs of early exits this season.
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However, Djokovic will have the chance to build into his French Open campaign with Mackenzie McDonald in the opening round and either Corentin Moutet or a qualifier in round two. Moutet is awkward, but is not considered dangerous.
From there, the first seeds Djokovic may need to face would be Denis Shapovalov in round three and potentially Daniil Medvedev, who has not won a title in two years, in the last-16.
He is in the same quarter as Alexander Zverev, last year’s runner-up, but the German third seed is by no means a lock to make it through to the quarter-finals given his form since the Australian Open final.
Of course, Djokovic may need to, will likely have to, beat both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz if he is to win a record-extending 25th grand slam. But even getting back to the latter rounds can be a lift ahead of Wimbledon.
Jack Draper looks to back up seeding
Jack Draper is yet to win a main-draw match at the French Open but arrives as the fifth seed – which is quite the unusual position to be in. But the Briton has shown improved form on the clay after reaching the Madrid Open final and the Italian Open quarter-finals, so will take confidence into his opening match against Italy’s Mattia Bellucci.
Given he went out in the first round last year, Draper has the chance to build on his rankings points ahead of Wimbledon – holding down his seeding and reaching the quarter-finals would be a big achievement for the British No 1 at this stage of his career, especially as there are some dangerous opponents in his section.
There could be an entertaining match-up with home favourite Gael Monfils in round two, and then a fascinating clash with Brazil’s rising star Joao Fonseca in round three. In round four, there’s the potential of meeting ninth seed Alex de Minaur, or another young gun in Jakub Mensik – who defeated Draper in the opening round of Miami.
Draper is in the same quarter as top seed Jannik Sinner, but getting there would signify an excellent fortnight all the same.
Jannik Sinner vs the French
The World No 1 returned from his three-month doping ban to a hero’s reception at the Italian Open, but Roland Garros has the potential to be a very different environment. Sinner will open his French Open bid against a Frenchman in Arthur Rinderknech and then will play another, in the retiring Richard Gasquet or Terence Atmane, in round two.
Sinner will be the overwhelming favourite in both, but there’s the possibility of another clash against a home player in Arthur Fils, who is France’s biggest hope ahead of this year’s Roland Garros, in the fourth round. It will be interesting to see how Sinner is received by a partisan crowd, particularly after how much support he got in Rome.
If everyone has their eyes on a Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz final, it is the defending champion who has the kinder route. Alcaraz opens against Kei Nishikori and although he could face a former French Open finalist in Stefanos Tsitsipas in round four, he has won all six career meetings against the Greek.
It would be a surprise to see Taylor Fritz back up his fourth seed and reach the semis, so Barcelona champion Holger Rune or Monte Carlo finalist Lorenzo Musetti – two players Alcaraz has faced this clay-court season – have good opportunities to reach the semi-final in Paris.
Big name first-rounds for remaining Brits
There could be a slew of Brits taking on grand slam champions in the first week of Roland Garros, with Cameron Norrie facing Daniil Medvedev, Jacob Fearnley meeting Stan Wawrinka and Katie Boulter potentially playing Madison Keys, if the British No 1 gets past a qualifier.
Wawrinka, a former French Open winner, has received a wildcard at the age of 40. It’s an opportunity for Fearnley to continue his rise as the 23-year-old Scot makes his Roland Garros debut. Norrie, meanwhile, has lost all four meetings with Medvedev, including a couple of weeks ago in Rome.
Boulter makes just her second appearance in the French Open main draw, but does so having won her first title on the surface at a WTA 125 event in Paris. Danielle Collins, fresh off beating Emma Raducanu in Strasbourg, opens against another Brit in Jodie Burrage.
