Breaking Down The French Open Women's Draw

I don't imagine either Maria or Serena is pleased with facing each other so early in the tournament

Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova are the defending finalists in Paris, and likely the two biggest favourites to win the title. Unfortunately for them, and fans, there will be no rematch of last year's final. The two are on course to meet in the quarters of the top half of the draw, due in large part to Maria's dip in the rankings this spring. Li Na and Simona Halep are the top two seeds on the bottom half. 

The Women's Draw is filled with intrigue; there are so many early round matches that promise great entertainment. Below are a few thoughts regarding the draw, some early round matches you should pay attention to, and my picks for the final 8. 


First Impressions

• Spare a thought for Alize Lim. She was last seen taking a selfie with Serena at the player's party, and now gets the 17-time Slam champion in the first round. How's that for bad luck!

• Poor Venus! She has played her way into getting a seed at Roland Garros, yet that hasn't paid any dividends whatsoever. She draws Belinda Bencic in the first round, and has her sister looming in the third round. 

• Eugenie Bouchard gets a favourable draw as she seeks to make another deep run at a major following her semifinal showing in Australia. A round of 16 match with Kerber is her main obstacle from making the quarters. 

• Expectations were already very low for Caroline Wozniacki after her very public split from Rory McIlroy this week, and her prospects didn't get any better with the release of the draw. She gets Wickmayer, Pavlyuchenkova and then Li Na in the third round. 

• If Maria Sharapova is to win a second French Open title, she will have to get past Australian Open finalist Dominika Cibulkova in the round of 16 and then Serena Williams in the quarters. Ouch. 

• Taylor Townsend will make her Grand Slam debut at the French Open, and she's in with more than a fighting chance of scoring her first main draw win too. Vania King should be a winnable match all things considered. 

• Sloane Stephens will need to buckle down if she's to make her ninth consecutive third round at a Slam. Her performances since the Australian Open have been lacklustre, and she draws Peng in the first round and Jana Cepelova in the second.  

• The bottom half of draw is wide open for a surprise finalist. Kuznetsova could do some damage with Kvitova in a tailspin, so too could Simona Halep who couldn't ask for a better road to the semifinals. If, somehow, Li Na fails to make it out of the first week, your guess is as good as mine as far as who makes it out of that section. 

Early Round Matches To Watch

Ivanovic vs Garcia - 1st Round
Errani vs Keys - 1st Round
Stosur vs Puig - 1st Round
Townsend vs King - 1st Round
Venus vs Bencic - 1st Round
Date-Krumm vs Scrabble - 1st Round
Stephens vs Cepelova - 2nd Round
Kerber vs Lepchenko - 2nd Round
Pennetta vs Kirilenko - 2nd Round
Kvitova vs Kuznetsova - 3rd Round
Petkovic vs Li - 3rd Round
Stosur vs Cibulkova - 3rd Round


Quarter-Finalists

Serena vs Sharapova
Radwanska vs Bouchard
Ivanovic vs Halep
Jankovic vs Li