By Chris Oddo | Friday May 20, 2016
French Open draw gods were kind Defending champion Stan Wawrinka on Friday.
Photo Source: AP
Who got screwed by the draw gods and who had the luck of the draw on their side? We take a close look at the Roland Garros men and women’s singles draw here:
Click Here to See all the Roland Garros Draws
1. Djokovic Shown Some Love Novak Djokovic had one of the most difficult draws in 2015 as he drew Rafael Nadal in the quarters, Andy Murray in the semis and Stan Wawrinka in the final. There is simply no way playing a nine-time French Open titlist in the quarterfinals can ever be considered a good draw. And what happened after that made things even worse for Djokovic. But this year lady luck is shining on Djokovic. As we like to say: the draw gods giveth and the draw gods taketh away.
Not only did Djokovic avoid the dangerous Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinals, he also has a really manageable route all the way to the semis. There are possible trip-ups, like a potential third-round encounter with dangerous Federico Delbonis, but it really looks like the Serb could reach the semis without dropping a set. Of course, he did that last year, then stumbled against Murray, needing two days to get past him, before Wawrinka took him down.
Last year, the triple whammy of 1) the stress of facing Nadal, 2) the surprisingly impressive clay game of Murray and 3) out of this world Wawrinka proved to be too much for Djokovic.
This year Djokovic’s road is a little clearer, and there’s no guarantee that Nadal will be there to push him in the semis given his tricky draw.
2. Nadal’s Tricky Draw
Nine-time champion Nadal got the short end of the stick in a big way in Paris. It doesn’t mean he won’t be able to manage, it just means that he’ll likely encounter a bit more anxiety to get through. Slated to face longtime nemesis Fabio Fognini in the third round, followed by Dominic Thiem in the round of 16 and possibly Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters is no joke. Nadal has been in great form and he will NEED TO CONTINUE THAT FORM in order to make his way through these minefields.
3. Serena Will Need to Be Sharp
The bad thing about Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka being drawn in the same quarter is that fans won’t get to see this delightful matchup occur in the final. The good news is that the likelihood increases that we will actually get to see these rivals square off.
Azarenka comes into Roland Garros with back issues lingering (reportedly behind her—fingers crossed), so we’re not sure if we’ll get the player that won the Indian Wells-Miami double earlier this spring (of course not, she’ll be on clay), but we’ll know a lot more about where Azarenka’s game is at if she reaches the quarters.
In the meantime, Williams might face a few challenges in getting to the last eight. Not sure if hard-serving Kristyna Pliskova is going to test Williams, but she certainly has a tricky enough game to cause some problems for Williams in the second round. After that Williams could face dangerous Kristina Mladenovic in round three. Don’t forget that Mladenovic has taken out Top-10 players in her last two appearances in Paris. In the round of 16 Williams could face Ana Ivanovic or Elina Svitolina. Neither player has done much on clay this spring, however.
Bottom line? The looming Azarenka quarterfinal makes Williams’ draw tougher, but it’s nothing the 21-time major champion can’t handle if she’s in top form.
4. Suarez Navarro Faces Big Challenges
We’ve tabbed Carla Suarez Navarro as a player who could one day successfully traverse a cratered Roland Garros draw to a maiden major title. Not this year. Third round Cibulkova, round of 16 Azarenka, quarterfinal Serena Williams. That’s just cruel.
5. Wawrinka Looks Good
It’s difficult to picture Stan Wawrinka not reaching the semifinals in Paris if he plays the way he is capable of. Of course that’s a big if with Stanimal. The Swiss could be challenged by Martin Klizan in the second round, but Klizan has been out since Indian Wells, so don’t expect too much from him. Gilles Simon sounds like a tricky potential round of 16 opponent for Stan, but Wawrinka has won the last three on clay from Simon (the last two easily). Perhaps Milos Raonic or a dark horse in this quarter can push Wawrinka, but at first glance it looks like a nice situation for Wawrinka.
6. Good Opportunity for Muguruza or Kuznetsova
With Petra Kvitova and Roberta Vinci as two of the highest seeds in this quarter, one has to think that either Svetlana Kuznetsova or Garbine Muguruza will have a shot to make the semis. Nothing against Petra or Roberta but neither is a scary prospect on clay, given their current form. Muguruza and Kuznetsova (both in pretty good form and pretty clay savvy) could meet in the round of 16 and if they do the winner could be looking at a deep run, perhaps to the final.