Djokovic Faces Tough French Open Draw Amid Injury Concerns

Novak Djokovic has avoided Jannik Sinner’s half of the French Open draw but faces a challenging path as he tries to hit form and launch a deep run after a torrid, injury-ravaged period before the second grand slam event of the year.

Djokovic, a three-times champion at Roland Garros, returns to Paris aiming for a record 25th grand slam singles title. He will begin against the big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

By landing in the same half as Alexander Zverev, the No 2 seed, Djokovic cannot face Sinner before the final. He has played just two tournaments since the Australian Open, when he defeated Sinner in a spectacular five-set semi-final, before losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final. His most recent appearance was a first-round loss to world No 79 Dino Prizmic at the Italian Open.

Sinner, meanwhile, will begin his pursuit of a career grand slam at Roland Garros in front of a potentially hostile audience, against the French wildcard Clement Tabur. Sinner arrives as the dominant player in the men’s game and the prohibitive favourite at Roland Garros in the injury-enforced absence of Alcaraz, the reigning champion. After becoming the second man and youngest in history to win every Masters 1000 title, after Djokovic, Sinner will aim to complete the set of grand slams.

Emma Raducanu, meanwhile, will try to kickstart her season at Roland Garros when facing the 21-year-old Argentine Solana Sierra in the first round.

Raducanu arrives searching for rhythm and form after a two-month injury layoff due to post-viral illness, and lost her first-round match to Diane Parry in Strasbourg earlier this week. Sierra is a talented young player and capable of beating her. Sierra currently sits at a career-high ranking of No 64 after a fruitful clay-court season.

In contrast to the men’s draw, where one player is the prohibitive favourite, the women’s draw could be decided by a number of strong players. Coco Gauff, the fourth seed, will begin her title defence against Taylor Townsend.

There are potential champions everywhere. Aryna Sabalenka has performed poorly during the clay-court season by her high standards, but the world No 1 remains one of the favourites. Jessica Pegula, the fifth seed, and the ninth seed Victoria Mboko also occupy the top half.

The bottom half, however, is also filled with potential contenders. Elina Svitolina, the seventh seed and recent Italian Open champion, could face the third seed Iga Swiatek, who hopes hiring a new coach, Francisco Roig, may lead to a fifth French Open title. Swiatek is seeded to face the 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko in the third round, who, fascinatingly, holds a 6-0 record against her.

Elena Rybakina, the second seed, wants a second straight grand slam title after her triumph in Melbourne. She is projected, by seeding, to face the eighth seed, Mirra Andreeva, in the quarter-finals.