Breaking Down The French Open Men's Draw

Many scores will be settled should Nadal and Djokovic give us the final we expect.

The French Open is finally upon us; the lead up to the premier clay event has been a long and eventful one this year. Rafael Nadal has looked vulnerable on clay for the first time in his career, and Novak Djokovic appears in prime form to finally complete his career Grand Slam. Yet, Nadal has won this tournament eight of the last nine years; he is still the King of Clay until he is not. Rafa has been able to thwart Djokovic's attempts at his crown the last two years - can he do so one more time? 

The Men's Draw, released on Friday, is definitely more favourable to some than others. Here are my reactions to the draw, some of the key early round matches to look out for, and my picks for the quarters.


First Impressions

• If Rafael Nadal is to win a ninth French Open and 14th Grand Slam title, he will have to fend off several tough opponents before a seemingly inevitable final against Novak Djokovic. Lurking in his half are: Thiem, Almagro, Dimitrov/Ferrer and Wawrinka/Murray. He has embraced the struggle this spring, and maybe that will have prepared him for one more almighty fight in Paris. 
• Dominic Thiem and Nick Kyrgios have been described as the future of the ATP. Both have had good seasons and, given a favourable draw, could notch a few scalps at the French. The tennis gods have not cooperated; Thiem gets Nadal in the second round, and Kyrgios draws Raonic in the opening round. 
  
• Andy Murray has struggled mightily in his return from back surgery last fall. His tussle with Nadal in Rome signalled he may be close to his best. While he has Wawrinka in the quarters, his road up to that point might allow him to find some more form and make a competitive go of it. 
• I can hardly believe the depth on the ATP tour. The fourth round matches are all mouth-watering, further evidence that the men's tour keeps getting better and better.
  
• Stan Wawrinka has proven he can beat anybody, but he has yet to convince me that he can be counted on to bring his best every match. The draw will test his mettle often; if he makes it to the second week, he should be ready for the big boys. 
  
• Djokovic must be thanking the tennis gods that Stan is on the opposite side of the draw. He can only meet his bogeyman in the final. After losing to him in Australia and playing two five-setters in Slams last year, Novak must happy to pawn Stan off on Rafa this time around.
  
• Federer has the easiest path to the quarters of all the big guns. Fresh off having twins again, Roger could probably use some more matches on clay after skipping Madrid and losing early in Rome. I have no idea what to expect from him in Paris, but at least the draw has gifted him a chance to make noise in week two.  
• The men's draw is oh so top heavy. It's impossible to please everybody with a draw of 128 players, but this is a bit much!

Early Round Matches To Watch


Raonic vs Kyrgios - 1st Round
Nishikori vs Klizan - 1st Round
Thiem vs Mathieu - 1st Round
Almagro vs Sock - 1st Round
Seppi vs Girlado - 1st Round
Wawrinka vs Garcia-Lopez - 1st Round
Nadal vs Thiem - 2nd Round
Murray vs Brown - 2nd Round
Youzhny vs Stepanek - 2nd Round
Bautista Agut vs Berdych - 3rd Round
Nishikori vs Dolgopolov - 3rd Round
Almagro vs Haas - 3rd Round
Wawrinka vs Lopez - 3rd Round
Monfils vs Fognini - 3rd Round


Quarter-Finalists

Nadal vs Ferrer
Wawrinka vs Murray
Bautista Agut vs Federer
Nishikori vs Djokovic