Naomi Osaka will not have the luxury of easing into her return to the courts of the French Open, facing a tough foe in her very first match.
Week 2 at Roland Garros, meanwhile, could be quite fascinating for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz – the three leading favorites for the men’s title ended up on the same side of the bracket for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament, meaning only one can reach the final.
Thursday’s draw at Roland Garros also set up two tantalizing possibilities in the fourth round for No. 1-ranked Iga Swiatek, the 2020 champion who is currently on a 28-match winning streak. She might need to go up against 2018 champion Simona Halep at that stage or 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko – who just so happens to be the last woman to defeat Swiatek.
Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, are also in the French Open main draw. Vancouver’s Rebecca Marino could join them if she defeats Australia’s Seone Mendez in the final round of qualifying Friday.
Women’s 17th-seed Fernandez, seeded in Paris for the first time in her career, will take on France’s Kristina Mladenovic in the first round.
Andreescu, the former world No. 4, will look to build on her successful clay-court season following a months-long absence to recuperate physically and mentally from a tough 2021 season.
The tournament begins Sunday.
Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who used to be No. 1 in the rankings but has slipped to No. 38 in part because of a lack of activity. That included time off for a mental health break after she withdrew from Roland Garros ahead of her second-round match last year, revealing that she has dealt with anxiety and depression.
Because she is not seeded at the French Open, she was not safe from facing a seeded opponent right away, so that’s what will happen against No. 27 Amanda Anisimova, a 20-year-old American who was a 2019 semi-finalist in Paris.
Anisimova won their third-round encounter at the Australian Open in January by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Osaka was the defending champion at Melbourne Park.
The possible women’s quarter-finals in Paris are Swiatek against two-time major runner-up Karolina Pliskova, and No. 3 seed Paula Badosa against No. 7 Aryna Sabalenka on the top half of the field, and defending champion Barbora Krejcikova against No. 5 Anett Kontaveit, and No. 4 Maria Sakkari against No. 6 Ons Jabeur on the bottom half.
Last year, in her first time in the main draw of singles at the French Open, Krejcikova won both that trophy – the player she beat in the final, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, announced this week her season is done because of an injured knee – along with women’s doubles.
Djokovic, who is the defending champion and seeded No. 1, could meet Nadal in the quarter-finals. A year ago, Djokovic beat Nadal in the semi-finals, before erasing a two-set deficit against Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the final.
Nadal leads the Grand Slam title standings among men with 21, one ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer.
Canadian tennis star Félix Auger-Aliassime could be on a collision course with Nadal. Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime, seeded ninth in men’s competition at the Grand Slam, was drawn into a path that could include a matchup with No. 5 Nadal in the fourth round.
Nadal has a career 105-3 record and 13 titles at Roland Garros. But the 35-year-old Spaniard enters this year’s French Open battling a foot injury, which flared up during a third-round loss to Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., at the Italian Open earlier this month.
Still, should Auger-Aliassime meet Nadal in the fourth round and prevail, next up could be world No. 1 Djokovic. The Serb star beat Auger-Aliassime 7-5, 7-6 (1) in the Italian Open quarter-finals en route to a tournament win. Auger-Aliassime will open in Paris against a qualifier.
The 14th-seeded Shapovalov opens against 19-year-old Holger Rune of Denmark, who won his first ATP Tour title last month in Munich. Alcaraz could meet No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev in quarter-finals.
The potential quarter-finals on the other half of the bracket are No. 2 Daniil Medvedev against No. 7 Andrey Rublev – two Russians who will not be allowed to compete at Wimbledon because of that country’s invasion of Ukraine – and No. 4 Tsitsipas against No. 8 Casper Ruud.