mtenis.com.pl

If Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard can break out of her current slump, she has a good chance to make a deep run at the French Open.

The sixth seed has a favourable draw at Roland Garros, starting with a first-round match against France’s Kristina Mladenovic.

The two have met only once in on the WTA circuit, with Bouchard defeating Mladenovic 6-3, 6-2 in the quarter-finals of the 2013 Coupe Banque National in Quebec City.

Bouchard wouldn’t face a seeded opponent until the third round, where she could meet No. 32 Zarina Diyas of Kazakhstan.

It would be the second meeting between the two in as many tournaments. Bouchard beat Diyas 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of last week’s Italian Open. That victory ended a troubling six-match losing streak for the native of Westmount, Que.

Should Bouchard reach the quarter-final, she could face a daunting opponent in Perta Kvitova. The No. 4 Czech has won all three career matches against Bouchard, including a 6-3, 6-0 rout in last year’s Wimbledon final.

Bouchard advanced to the semifinals at Roland Garros last year.

In the men’s draw, Vancouver’s Vasek Pospisil plays his first-round match against Portugal’s Joao Sousa. Pospisil will be looking to advance to the second round in Paris for the first time after three consecutive first-round defeats.

Men’s No. 6 Milos Raonic is missing the tournament as he recovers from surgery to repair a pinched nerve in his right foot.

The 24-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., reached the quarter-finals at the French Open last year before falling to Novak Djokovic.

Matt Wilansky, Tennis editor

42 Shares
Email
Print
Comment

Williams

No. 1 Serena Williams: After a 24-0 start to the season, Williams lost to Petra Kvitova in a swift straight-setter in Madrid and then pulled out of Rome with an elbow injury. Williams says her setback shouldn't affect her French Open campaign, but given her second-round dismissal a year ago, the world No. 1 could be lacking confidence heading into the year's second Slam.
Sharapova

No. 2 Maria Sharapova: A few years ago, we didn't think of Sharapova as a clay-court stalwart, but she validated her prowess by winning a third title Sunday in Rome. With an air of uncertainty surrounding the women's draw (most notably, Serena's recent struggles), the two-time French Open winner looks like the early favorite at Roland Garros.
Wozniacki

No. 5 Caroline Wozniacki: It hasn't been an awful clay season for the Dane, who has recent wins against Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska. But if the tennis gods are on her side, they'll keep a rejuvenated Victoria Azarenka out of Wozniacki's half of the draw in Paris. In all three of their meetings this season, Azarenka has prevailed, including the past week in Rome.
Bouchard

No. 6 Eugenie Bouchard: Bouchard has seemingly reached rock bottom in her young tennis career. Since Indian Wells, she is 1-7, with her only win coming this past week in the opening round of Rome. More disconcerting for Bouchard: She has played just one top-20 player in that stretch.
Suarez

No. 8 Carla Suarez Navarro: If there is any player in the game who deserves more love, it's Suarez Navarro. She had Sharapova looking frazzled in the Rome final with a guileful array of spins early. The No. 8-ranked Spaniard was eventually overpowered late in their two-and-a-half-hour battle, but that shouldn't take anything away from her strong week.
Kerber

No. 11 Angelique Kerber: Perhaps Kerber peaked too early. She started the clay season in rousing fashion, winning Charleston and Stuttgart. Since then, Kerber has fallen in the opening round of Madrid and the second round of Rome, the two biggest clay-court events leading up to the French.
Williams

No. 15 Venus Williams: It's no secret Venus doesn't welcome the clay season with open arms. She reached the round of 16 in Rome before losing to Azarenka but hasn't made it past the second round of the French Open since 2010.
Keys

No. 16 Madison Keys: The 20-year-old American gave us plenty of reason for optimism early this year, as she powered her way into the Aussie Open semifinals. But her performance has been a little squirrelly since. Keys reached the Charleston final -- her first clay event of the season -- but fell in the first and second rounds of Madrid and Rome, respectively.

Are tough third-rounders just what Serena and Maria need? (AP)

The stories in both French Open singles draws are the same: The cream has risen. On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are in the top quarter; on the women’s side, Serena Williams may have to contend with Victoria Azarenka, Caroline Wozniacki, and her sister Venus just to reach the semis.

In other words, it’s going to get interesting early. Here’s a look at how the women’s event might play out. (View the entire draw here.)

*****
First Quarter

Azarenka has been cursed with tough draws this season, but it seemed that once she lifted herself back into the Top 32 and earned a Grand Slam seeding, she would be safe. No such luck: The former world No. 1 is scheduled to face the current No. 1, Serena, in the third round. Or maybe that is good luck. We know that if you’re going to knock off Serena, who went out in the second round at Roland Garros last year, it’s probably going to happen early.

Serena also comes in to this Slam a little more vulnerable than normal. She says she had a slow start, preparation-wise, to the clay season, and she hasn’t caught up yet. Williams was beaten badly by Petra Kvitova in Madrid and had to pull out of Rome with an elbow injury. Still, I think if she does face Azarenka on Chatrier, Serena will treat it like a Slam final or semi—i.e., she’ll play well, and win.

On the other side, Wozniacki, while she’s ranked No. 5, hasn’t been past the third round at Roland Garros since 2010.

First-round match to watch: Venus Williams vs. Sloane Stephens
Semifinalist: S. Williams

*****
Second Quarter

Next question: We know that Petra Kvitova can beat anyone when she’s in Madrid or at Wimbledon; now can she, at age 25, add Roland Garros to that short list of homes-away-from-home? She’s been to the semis here once, but this year her draw makes a second deep run seem plausible. The other seeds in her half are Irina-Camelia Begu, Timea Bacsinszky, and Madison Keys, who just pulled out of a tune-up event with an elbow injury.

Even better for Kvitova, the top seed on the other side is Eugenie Bouchard. The Canadian, as we know, has had a horrid 2015, but she did show signs of life in Rome, where she nearly beat Carla Suarez Navarro. But even if she does right herself for this tournament, Bouchard would be a long shot in a quarterfinal against Kvitova.

Sleepers: Karolina Pliskova and Svetlana Kuznetsova. The Czech and the Russian are in Bouchard’s half.

First-round match to watch: Bouchard vs. Kristina Mladenovic. The Frenchwoman upset No. 2 seed Li Na in the first round here in 2014.

Players of Interest: Taylor Townsend and Belinda Bencic. These two future stars have good draws.
Semifinalist: Kvitova

*****
Third Quarter

What do we think of Simona Halep’s chances? On the plus side, she almost won the tournament in 2014, she’s had a strong 2015 overall, and at this point she should feel as if a Grand Slam title is within her grasp. On the minus side, because she doesn’t automatically overpower her opponents, she’s not immune to the odd upset on an off day—she can, in other words, get down on herself.

Halep could get a little down looking at her draw: The first seed she’s scheduled to face is the woman who pulled off one of those odd upsets over her earlier this month in Madrid, Alizé Cornet. But if she makes it past the Frenchwoman, Halep could be in the clear. Agnieszka Radwanska and Ana Ivanovic, each of whom has been mired in season-long slump, are two of the seeds in this quarter.

Player of Interest: Caroline Garcia. The Frenchwoman, who snuck onto safe ground as the No. 31 seed, has never done much at her home Slam. This time she’s slated to play Ivanovic in the third round.
Semifinalist: Halep

*****
Fourth Quarter

The cream rose on thew women's side, as I said, but some of it sank to the bottom as well. Maria Sharapova, Carla Suarez Navarro, Angelique Kerber, Garbine Muguruza, and Sam Stosur are all in the last quarter.

Despite a tough draw, Sharapova, champion in Paris last year and champion in Rome last week, remains the favorite to reach the semis. She’s 4-0 against her opening-round opponent, 49th-ranked Kaia Kanepi, and 14-2 against Stosur, the first seed she could face. But that one could be interesting: The Aussie led Sharapova by a set in Paris last year before folding.

On paper, the other side looks like a three-way duel between Suarez Navarro, a quarterfinalist in Paris in 2014; Muguruza, who beat Serena here last year; and Kerber, a woman who has won two clay titles this spring, and beat Sharapova in one of them.

Name to say, if not remember: Oceane Dodin. The French wild card starts against Kurumi Nara.

First-round match to watch: Stosur vs. Madison Brengle. The American can play on clay, and nearly beat Stosur in their only meeting.
Semifinalist: Sharapova

*****
Semifinals: S. Williams d. Kvitova; Sharapova d. Halep
Final: S. Williams d. Sharapova