Friday, May 22, 2015

2015 FRENCH OPEN: Draws Released; Rafa-Nole Set For QF, Murray In Same Half; Fed In Other Half


The 2015 French Open draw is out! Despite the fact that today is Novak Djokovic's 28th birthday, he probably did not get what he wanted with a draw that sets up him with a potential quarterfinal match-up with 9-time and defending champion Rafael Nadal, who thanks to Milos Raonic's withdrawal was seeded #6.

For Djokovic to win the 2015 Roland Garros title he coudl potentially need to beat Nadal i the quarterfinal, #3 Andy Murray in the semifinals and #2 Roger Federer in the final. If he can do all that (which is definitely possible) then he would be halfway to a calendar grand slam and knocking on the door of all-time greatness with 9 majors to his name.

The potential quarterfinals on the men's side are:
Djokovic (1) vs Nadal (6)Murray (3) vs Ferrer (7)Berdych (4) vs Nishikori (5)Federer (2) vs Wawrinka (8)
The men's draw was kindest to Federer, who basically only has to worry about facing Gael Monfils in the fourth round. The Frenchman has beaten the Swiss great the last two ties he has faced him, on clay. Could he make it three in a row in front of a hometown Parisian crowd?

The potential quarterfinals on the women's side are:
S. Williams (1) vs Bouchard (6)Halep (3) vs Ivanovic (7)Kvitova (4) vs Wozniacki (5)Sharapova (2) vs Suarez Navarro (8)
However even more intriguing in the women's side of the draw are the first round match-ups between Americans Venus Williams and Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys and Varvara Lepchenko. Another interesting first round could be Kiki Mladenovic and Bouchard. Mladenovic took out then-reigning Australian Open champion Li Na in the first round last year. Also youngsters Caroline Garcia and Belinda Bencic are facing each other in the first round.

The most interesting first round men's match is probably between Grigor Dimitrov and Jack Sock. I'm curious to see if 17-year-old Frances Tiafoe can win his first match at a major (against) talented lefty Martin Klizan after winning the USTA wild card.

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