2016 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS RICKY’S PICKS – THE DRAW BREAKDOWN & MORE FROM PARIS

Written by: Staff on 21st May 2016

2016 FRENCH OPEN TENNIS RICKY'S PICKS - THE DRAW BREAKDOWN & MORE FROM PARIS |

French Open draw breakdown: Djokovic has easier path than Nadal to semifinal showdown

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal seemingly got a big assist from Roger Federer when the 17-time major champion withdrew from the French Open because of a back injury. Although that development did push Nadal to the No. 4 seed, the Spaniard’s good fortune came to an end in a hurry when the draw ceremony was held. His eighth of the bracket also features familiar foe Fabio Fognini and recent Nice champion Dominic Thiem. If the seeds hold to form, Nadal will have to beat both Fognini and Thiem just to advance to the quarterfinals.

On the bright side for the nine-time winner of this tournament, he drew Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as his 5-8 seed instead of Kei Nishikori (Tomas Berdych, of course, would also have been a favorable 5-8 seed). Tsonga is just 15-8 this year and an abbreviated 4-2 on clay, as another knee problem prevented the Frenchman from getting more matches under his belt these last couple of months.

Nadal is on a collision course with Novak Djokovic for the semifinals, and the world No. 1 should have no trouble getting there. The other seeded players in his quarter are Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Roberto Bautista Agut, Bernard Tomic, Feliciano Lopez, Pablo Cuevas, and Federico Delbonis. Berdych and Ferrer are out of form, Bautista Agut is 0-21 in his last 21 matches against top 10 players other than Tsonga, and Tomic has been a disaster on clay.

The other side of Djokovic’s quarter, however, could be interesting. WIth Berdych and Ferrer vulnerable, Pablo Cuevas, Feliciano Lopez, and Juan Monaco should have quarterfinal aspirations.

Like Djokovic, Andy Murray also has a favorable draw. As if he needed any help, the second-ranked Scot is coming off consecutive title match appearances in Madrid and Rome (lost to Djokovic and then upset Djokovic). He has reached the semis in three of his last four trips to to the French Open, as well. The bad news for Murray is that Kei Nishikori is a potential quarterfinal adversary. Nishikori has reached at least the semifinals of his last four events, including in Madrid and Rome. The world No. 6 made a run to the French Open quarterfinals for the first time last season.

Murray should have no difficulty on the way to his potential battle against Nishikori. The second seed opens with qualifiers and/or wild cards in the first two rounds and his nearest seed is a rusty Ivo Karlovic. Murray’s possible seeded fourth-round foes are John Isner and Benoit Paire, who are both woefully short on confidence.

As for defending champion Stan Wawrinka, he will play two straight matches against Lukas Rosol. The Swiss just beat Rosol in the Geneva semis on his way to the title and he will face Rosol again in round one at Roland Garros. The draw should open up once Rosol is presumably out of the way. If Wawrinka advances, he will go up against Martin Klizan or Taro Daniel before possibly running into Jeremy Chardy in the third round.

The rest of the fourth-round spots are more up for grabs in Murray’s section. Milos Raonic may encounter some difficulty with a red-hot Lucas Pouille in round three or either Marin Cilic or Jack Sock in the last 16. Cilic finished runner-up to Wawrinka in Geneva and Sock is more than capable of performing well on clay.