The double withdrawal of Roger Federer and Gael Monfils has done little to disrupt the buzz circulating the men’s draw.
There are many unanswered questions in the men’s draw. Can Stan Wawrinka defend his title? Will Rafael Nadal take advantage of his recent surge in form and claim title No.10? Can Novak Djokovic finally grab his first French Open title? It is no wonder that the draw has been so eagerly anticipated by many.
World No.1 Djokovic will start against Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun, who he has defeated two before in his career. The Serbian hasn’t lost a set in his first round match at Roland Garros since 2010 (against Evgeny Korolev). In Djokovic’s section he will play a qualifier in the second round followed by potential matches against Argentina’s Federico Delbonis and Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut.
Djokovic’s projected route in Paris:
R1 – Lu
R2 – Q
R3 – Delbonis
R4 – Bautista Agut
QF – Berdych/Ferrer
SF – Nadal
F – Murray/Stan#RG16— VAVEL USA Tennis (@VAVELUSATennis) 20 May 2016
Andy Murray’s bid to become the first British male winner at Roland Garros since Fred Perry in 1935 will start against a yet to be confirmed qualifier. The Rome Open champion could then face two of the tour’s biggest servers (Ivo Karlovic and John Isner) before he reaches the last eight. Murray has reached the semifinals of the French Open three times, including the last two years.
Murray’s projected route:
R1 – qualifier
R2 – Bourgue/qualifier
R3 – Karlovic
R4 – Isner
QF – Nishikori
SF – Wawrinka
F – Djokovic— Eleanor Crooks (@EleanorcrooksPA) 20 May 2016
Defending champion Stan Wawrinka opens up against Czech player Lukas Rosol. The Swiss player leads the head-to-head 3-0 and has only dropped one set. Wawrinka has been given a relatively generous draw. Future rounds could include matches against French players Jeremy Chardy (round 3) and Gilles Simon (round 4). Unseeded Grigor Dimitrov is also in Wawrinka’s quarter and could potentially be an outside danger.
Wawrinka’s projected route in Paris:
R1 – Rosol
R2 – Klizan
R3 – Chardy
R4 – Simon
QF – Raonic
SF – Murray
F – Djokovic/Nadal#RG16— VAVEL USA Tennis (@VAVELUSATennis) 20 May 2016
The king of Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal, is scheduled to start against Australia’s Sam Groth. Groth’s participation in the upcoming tournament has been brought into doubt after he underwent treatment on a blocked nerve in his neck. The nine-time French Open champion is drawn in the same half as Austria’s Dominic Thiem in what could be a high quality fourth round clash between the two.
Nadal’s projected route in Paris:
R1 – Groth
R2 – Bagnis
R3 – Anderson
R4 – Thiem
QF – Tsonga
SF – Djokovic
F – Murray/Wawrinka#RG16— VAVEL USA Tennis (@VAVELUSATennis) 20 May 2016
Full list of first round matches for the top-10 players
1) Novak Djokovic Vs Lu Yen Hsun
2) Andy Murray Vs qualifier
3) Stan Wawrinka Vs Lukas Rosol
4) Rafael Nadal Vs Sam Groth
5) Kei Nishikori Vs Simone Bolelli
6) Jo Wilfried-Tsonga Vs Qualifier
7) Tomer Berdych Vs Vasek Pospisil
8) Milos Raonic Vs Janko Tipsarevic
9) Richard Gasquet Vs Thomaz Bellucci
10) Marin Cilic Vs Qualifier
The Full draw
The Official #RG16 Men’s Draw pic.twitter.com/gb84TmFB9D
— Roland Garros (@rolandgarros) 20 May 2016
The projected quarter-finals
Novak Djokovic – Tomas Berdych Djokovic leads the head-to-head 23-2
Rafael Nadal – Jo Wilfried-Tsonga Nadal leads the head-to-head 8-4
Stan Wawrinka – Milos Raonic Wawrinka leads the head-to-head 4-1
Andy Murray – Kei Nishikori Murray leads the head-to-head 6-1
