Favorite Rafael Nadal must negotiate a tricky path in his bid for a fifth French Open title after the draw for the claycourt grand slam starting today.
World No. 2 Nadal, however, did not seem too worried by his fate as he was spotted practicing on a sunbathed center court while holders Roger Federer and Svetlana Kuznetsova were making Friday’s draw.
Nadal, beaten for the first time at Roland Garros last year, is in the same half as fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco and third seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Following a first-round match against Frenchman Gianni Mina, the Spaniard could meet Australian Lleyton Hewitt and big-serving Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia before a possible quarter-final against Verdasco and a semi-final with Djokovic.
Nadal refused to look beyond his first-round opponent.
Asked who were his main rivals in the tournament from today to June 6, he said: “First round, no? I play against a wildcard from France and that’s my toughest opponent now.”
Nadal, wearing a white cap back to front, practiced for more than an hour on center court, looking relaxed as he punished his sparring partner with his trademark forehand winners in front of his uncle and coach Toni Nadal.
Fourth-seed Andy Murray, gunning for his first grand slam title, will face gifted Frenchman Richard Gasquet and the Paris crowd in a treacherous first round.
Murray has lost two of his three matches against Gasquet but won the last one in a five-set thriller at Wimbledon in 2008.
The Briton, who has been playing poorly on clay this season, believes he is not heading into the match as the favorite.
“He’s very, very talented. Very good. It’s going to be a tough match,” he said. “The one thing I know is it’s not a match I’m going into being the favorite, which probably hasn’t happened in a slam for quite a few years.”
World No. 1 Federer will take on Australian Peter Luczak in the first round en route to a possible fifth French Open final against Nadal, whom he has never beaten at Roland Garros.
In the men’s singles, Taiwanese player Lu Yen-hsun will face world No. 14 Ivan Ljubicic from Croatia, while in the women’s singles Chan Yung-jan of Taiwan will compete against wild card Australian player Jarmila Groth, and compatriot Chang Kai-chen is set to square off against Serbia’s Ana Ivanovich.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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