Jack Draper’s new haircut, will Emma Raducanu be match? A rejuvenated Novak Djokovic at French Open in Gigi Salmon’s column | Tennis Information

It appears unusual to be getting ready for and now writing in regards to the French Open with an entry checklist that does not embody 14-time champion Rafa Nadal.

For so long as I’ve been on website in Paris, so has Nadal, the years when it was the remainder of the sphere in opposition to Nadal with inevitably the Spaniard popping out in high, the years which he missed by way of damage which noticed a collective sigh of reduction from the remainder of the sphere after which final yr with the thoughts prepared however the physique damaged as he performed his remaining match on the Grand Slam that he had made his personal.

So no Nadal however loads of others to deal with…

Let’s start with the Brits so that you can be careful for, who they’re up in opposition to and their probabilities, beginning with world No 5 Jack Draper. This time final yr Jack was ranked simply inside the highest 40 and his keep in Paris was temporary, dropping within the first spherical to Jesper de Jong over 5 units.

Quick ahead 12 months and within the Race to Turin he’s fourth, profitable one title (a Masters 1000) from three finals together with a primary Masters 1000 remaining on clay, reaching the ultimate in Madrid and quarter-finals in Rome. Though since his arrival within the French capital it appears many of the chat has been about his new haircut reasonably than his tennis, one thing that Jack goes to need to get used to, because the curiosity in him will stretch far past what he’s doing on the tennis court docket.

He’ll begin his marketing campaign with loads of confidence in opposition to the Italian world No 68 Mattia Bellucci, who he beat on the outside laborious courts of Tokyo final yr with out an excessive amount of fuss after which among the many seeds in his part are Geneva finalist Hubert Hurkacz, Miami Open winner Jakub Mensik and the Australian Alex de Minaur – whereas a quarter-final might see a gathering with world No 1 Jannik Sinner.

Seeking to attain the final 16 for a 3rd successive Grand Slam, Jack has been quoted as saying: “I really feel actually assured I’m able to go deeper in these tournaments and that is the subsequent step for me – to have persistently good runs at Grand Slams.”

Becoming a member of Jack within the draw is Cameron Norrie who had a superb run in Geneva, dropping within the semi-finals to Novak Djokovic, taking his rating as much as 81. He faces eleventh seed Daniil Medvedev and with Medvedev having a love-hate relationship with the purple dust and at considerably of a profession crossroads, whereas not an excellent draw, I hesitate to say it, nevertheless it could possibly be worse.

Additionally in that second second part of the highest half is Jacob Fearnley on his French Open debut, having solely performed his first tour-level clay-court match in April earlier than happening to win eight out of 13 matches. He faces former champion Stan Wawrinka who has been wild carded into the draw.

What can Boulter and Raducanu do in Paris?

For the British ladies Katie Boulter leads the best way, recent from her WTA 125 title in Paris and he or she is up in opposition to qualifier and world No 227 from France Carole Monnet. Boulter discovering herself within the backside part of the draw and a win would arrange a possible second-round conflict with Australian Open champion Madison Keys.

Additionally in that a part of the draw is Sonay Kartal, who takes on Mirra Andreeva’s older sister Erika.

Emma Raducanu faces Wang Xinyu for a second time this yr searching for a primary win, with the winner greater than prone to face four-time French Open champion Iga Swaitek in spherical two.

There’s additionally the matter of a again challenge that Emma is coping with and chatting with her after her defeat to Danielle Collins in Strasbourg, she mentioned: “It is annoying. It is irritating. And I get these spasms, they usually’re fairly intense and may simply final fairly a very long time. I am going to simply attempt to make it higher.”

And talking of the American she is the first-round opponent of Jodie Burrage.

Historical past-maker Djokovic working with doubles accomplice

Away from the Brits and I have to begin with three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic whose seek for tour title No 100 got here to an finish on Saturday when he beat Hurkacz within the remaining of the ATP Geneva 250 occasion.

Djokovic grew to become simply the third man within the Open period to win 100 or extra titles, becoming a member of Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103). He additionally grew to become the primary man within the Open period to raise a trophy in 20 completely different seasons, along with his first title since claiming gold finally summer time’s Olympics.

It was a chance to seek out some kind and confidence earlier than going through his hardest and probably remaining problem, to win Grand Slam title No 25.

Now not working with Andy Murray, his former assistant coach and doubles accomplice Dusan Vemic shall be by his aspect till no less than the tip of his run in Paris. When it comes to his draw, it is not too unhealthy within the early phases, going through gamers who aren’t in one of the best of kind. Issues then get difficult into week two the place a run to the ultimate might see him play Medvedev, Sascha Zverev, Sinner after which Carlos Alcaraz if all of the seeds had been to carry!

I do not suppose we shall be celebrating the primary participant to realize this milestone in two weeks’ time as I nonetheless suppose that Djokovic’s greatest probability of attending to No 25 will come on the grass at Wimbledon.

One other Alcaraz vs Sinner showdown?

The 2 standouts within the males’s draw are defending champion Alcaraz who has misplaced simply as soon as on the clay this yr and solely twice since Might final yr. He’s a pure on this floor, is available in with the Rome title beneath his belt and in relation to his rivalry with Sinner, as spectacular because the Italian’s return to motion has been following his three-month ban.

The Spaniard has extra matches in his legs. Sinner felt like the ultimate he would lose to Alcaraz in Rome was the proper method to see the place his recreation was forward of coming to Paris, so it will be attention-grabbing to see if the ultimate we wished and acquired within the Everlasting Metropolis shall be replicated within the French capital!

Exterior of Alcaraz and Sinner having already spoken of Djokovic and Draper it’s important to point out former finalists Zverev and Casper Ruud, with Barcelona winner Holger Rune and Monte-Carlo finalist Lorenzo Mussetti’s names additionally being talked about in contender conversations.

Can Swiatek rediscover her clay kind?

Swiatek’s ‘Queen of Clay’ title hasn’t been used as a lot within the run-up to the French Open regardless of profitable 4 of the final 5 titles. The explanation, her head-scratching kind, which for a lot of can be above and past expectations – 27 wins from 36 matches, reaching 4 semi-finals – however for somebody used to residing on the high of the rankings and competing for titles frequently she is in considerably of a barren patch, having not received a trophy or reached a remaining because the French Open final yr.

What the early exit in Rome allowed her to do was regroup, arrive in Paris early and be again at a spot the place she feels snug and for the previous few years has celebrated her birthday, with a cake on standby for Might 31 when she’s going to flip 24.

The draw hasn’t been sort and will play out: Rebecca Sramkova, Raducanu, Marta Kostyuk, Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff.

What it has finished is given us a brand new favorite in world No 1 Sabalenka, semi-finalist in 2023, quarter-finalist final yr, however by far the shape participant on the WTA Tour, profitable 36 of her 40 matches performed this yr with a return of three titles from six finals, together with the WTA 1000 on the clay in Madrid.

Talking forward of the match, she mentioned: “Bodily, mentally, and tennis-wise, I really feel stronger than ever on clay. I do know I can do properly on clay. I really feel actually sturdy and tremendous excited coming right here, and I hope this would be the yr I am actually pleased with myself on this floor.”

Is Andreeva a contender? Zheng to trigger an upset?

To go together with how properly she is feeling on the clay, her draw has been sort, with the primary actual hurdle prone to be a gathering with the Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng within the quarter-finals.

Additionally within the dialog must be Gauff, runner-up in Paris three years in the past and a semi-finalist final yr and he or she appears to be rounding into kind having reached back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome, and final yr’s finalist Paolini, a winner in Rome, displaying everybody that 2024 wasn’t a one off and he or she may be very a lot again for extra!

Discussions inside the Sky Sports activities Tennis staff throughout Madrid had 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva as a robust contender and for some (Colin Fleming) a robust favorite, whereas my point out of including Zheng to the checklist did not go down too properly. She has the latest recollections of profitable right here, selecting up gold finally yr’s Paris Olympics, absolutely that can imply one thing!

Essentially the most unpredictable participant in both draw for me is Rybakina who I wasn’t going to say till she received the WTA 500 title is Strasbourg on Saturday, placing herself absolutely again within the dialog along with her first title in over a yr.

So, in conclusion, nothing is minimize and dried this yr because it has been in others.

For years now this has been the most secure of the Grand Slams to foretell and be proper, now with the ‘King of Clay’ retired and the ‘Queen of Clay’ asking herself questions it might properly result in an attention-grabbing couple of weeks in Paris.

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