The french open (Roland Garros), the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, wil begin on Sunday. Let's see what the main draw looks like and which players we can expect in the semifinals.
At the top
Andy Murray is struggling with his form at the moment and he had some trouble with his health recently. Murray lost three of his last four matches and this is a great opportunity for him to back on track and start winning. Andrey Kuznetsov is Andy's first opponent. Juan Martin Del Potro also has some injury issues and he was close to dropping out of the event, but he is in the main draw.
It will be interesting to see Del Potro at the French Open after five years. John Isner is playing some great tennis at the moment and he could be an underdog in this part of the draw. He will play against Jordan Thompson in the first round. Alexander Zverev is coming to Paris off of a fresh win in Rome, where he beat Novak Đoković in the final. The young German is one of the favorites to win this quarter of the draw, as he will play Fernando Verdasco in the first round.
Sam Querrey, Kei Nishikori, Pablo Cuevas and Thomas Berdych are some of the other players in this part of the draw.
The second part of the draw
Stanislas Wawrinka, a former French Open champion, can't be satisfied with his form, but he can play unexpectedly well in big tournaments, so he is definitely one of the favorites to win this competition.
Stan will play a qualifier (Josef Kovalik) in the first round. Gael Monfils is always a tough opponent to beat and the Frenchman often depends on his moments of inspiration. Gael will play Dustin Brown in the first round. Marin Cilic is one of those players who can beat anybody and lose to anybody just the same, so it will be interesting to see how he'll respond in this tournament.
His first opponent is Ernests Gulbis.
Nick Kyrgios, Jo Wilfred Tsonga and Fabio Fognini are some of the other players in this part of the draw.
The third quarter
Milos Raonic is not that dangerous on clay, but he is always one of the favorites to play in the quarterfinals of any Grand Slam. He will play against Steve Darcis in the first round.
Rafael Nadal is the main favorite to win the French Open for the tenth time in his career, so he is obviously a big favorite to win this quarter of the draw. His first opponent is Benoit Paire.
GIlles Simon, Roberto Bautista, Jack Sock and Grigor Dimitrov are some of the other players in this part of the draw.
The final part of the draw
Novak Djokovic is looking for his first title since January, so he definitely has some motivation. Novak will play against Marcel Granollers in the first round. Dominic Thiem and David Goffin are the two other favorites to make it to the semifinals. Thiem's first opponent is Australian Bernard Tomic, while David Goffin will play against Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round.
Projected semifinals:
Andy Murray – Stanislas Wawrinka.
Rafael Nadal – Novak Djokovic.
