French Open 2017: Murray avoids Nadal and Djokovic but faces early challenges
Andy Murray will start his French Open campaign against Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov.
The world number one has been struggling recently but will hope the best-of-five-sets format allows him to rediscover the form that carried him to the final at Roland Garros 12 months ago.
Should Murray make it past 85th-ranked Kuznetsov in round one, he would face either Slovakia's Martin Klizan or French wild card Laurent Lokoli.
Potential danger lurks in round three in the shape of 29th seed Juan Martin Del Potro, should he recover from injury problems in time.
Murray was drawn in the same half as third seed Stan Wawrinka, who he beat in the semi-finals last year, with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic potential last-four opponents in the bottom section.
In the other half of the draw, Rafael Nadal could face Novak Djokovic in the semi-final in his quest for a 10th title at Roland Garros.
The fourth-seeded Nadal, the only player with nine trophies from one Grand Slam tournament, will open against Benoit Paire.
Nadal has been the dominant player of the clay-court season and has won 17 straight matches on his favorite surface, while Djokovic has been struggling with form and confidence recently.
Djokovic completed a career Grand Slam at the French Open last year by beating Murray in the final.
French Open: Andy Murray stats
In the women's draw, seventh seed Johanna Konta will play world number 109 Hsieh Su-wei from Chinese Taipei in the opening round.
The British number one is not a natural clay-courter but it would be a sizeable upset if she did not at least win her first ever match at Roland Garros.
Should she beat Hsieh, her second-round opponent would be either American Taylor Townsend or a qualifier, with a potential third-round meeting against France's Caroline Garcia.
Defending champion Garbine Muguruza was handed a tough first round match against 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone. Top-ranked Angelique Kerber will be up against 40th-ranked Ekaterina Makarova.
French Open 2017: All you need to know 11:51AM
Mixed draw for Murray
Andy Murray has avoided Djokovic, Nadal and Thiem - three of the favourites to lift the title at Roland Garros - until the final, but he faces some real tests as early as round three, where he is likely to face Del Potro. See below for his projected route to the final.
The big guns
Rafa Nadal will face Frenchman Benoit Paire.
Novak Djokovic plays Marcel Granollers.
Other Brits
First round: Dan Evans plays Tommy Robredol, Kyle Edmund faces Gastao Elias.
The route to glory
Andy Murray projected route #RolandGarros
R1: Kuznetsov
R2: Lokoli/Klizan
R3: Del Potro
R4: Berdych
QF: Nishikori
SF: Wawrinka
F: Djokovic— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) May 26, 2017
Murray to play Kuznetsov
Andy Murray will face Russia's world number 85 Andrey Kuznetsov in the first round at Roland Garros.
It could get tough early on for Muzza
The Scot faces a potential round three match against Juan Martin del Potro, and if he wins that, Thomas Berdych will be his likely opponent.
Another possible third round match is Nick Kyrgios vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Murray also avoids Thiem
Dominic Thiem is also in the opposite half of the draw to Murray. Zverev is in his half, though.
Murray news
Andy Murray is in the same half as Stan Wawrinka. Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in other half.
#rg17 projected men's quarterfinals:
Murray-Nishikori
Wawrinka-Cilic
Raonic-Nadal
Thiem-Djokovic— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 26, 2017
And onto the men's
So there you have the highlights from the women's draw. Here it is in full:
Full #RG17 women's draw: pic.twitter.com/sKCzlx4hes
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) May 26, 2017
The compulsory faff
We have 128 men and 128 women to draw, and the tennis suits are making their customary speeches ahead of actual proceedings.
They have to tell us how exciting they are about the tournament, after all. They are currently talking about renovation work at Roland Garros that won't finish until 2020...
Give us your pre-draw thoughts
About 10 mins to go
We'll soon find out who plays who in the first round of the French Open. There's lots of speculation about how Andy Murray will do at Roland Garros, and given his recent form he would probably appreciate a kind draw.
Preamble
What is it?
The draw to determine which player will face off against each other during the 2017 French Open. The higher ranked players will be seeded to try ensure that they will not face each other until the later stages of the tournament.
When is it?
The draw is set to take place on Friday, May 26, two days before the tournament gets underway on the 28th. The qualifying rounds will finish on Thursday.
What time does it start?
The draw is due to start at 11am BST on Friday - or midday local time.
What TV channel is it on?
You can catch the draw live on British Eurosport, which is also showing parts of the qualifying tournament. If you miss it you will be able to see the full draw on the official Roland Garros website.
Which players are the favourites?
Men
Rafa Nadal has been in imperious form in the lead-up to Roland Garros and has begun to revive aura of invincibility that he once held playing on clay. The world No. 4 has dominated the clay season so far this year, winning three of the four major ATP tournaments on his favourite surface, including a record-breaking 10th title at Monte Carlo.
Although injuries have meant that the World No4 has been without a Grand Slam win since his victory in Paris three years ago, Nadal the clay season so far this year, winning three of the four major ATP tournaments on his favourite surface, including a record-breaking 10th title at Monte Carlo.
Although the Spaniard can expect a harder draw than rivals Murray and Djokovic, their recent struggles, combined with Nadal's return to form, have seen the nine-times French Open Champion emerge as the clear favourite to triumph in Paris and to earn his long-awaited 'Decima'.
Novak Djokovic returns to Roland Garros this year as defending Champion after ending his long wait for a French Open title by defeating Andy Murray in last year's final.
Although he is certainly one of the favourites to take the trophy this season, the Serbian player has not been in the best of form in recent times, not winning a tournament since January.
His performances on clay so far this season have also not offered much comfort for the 12-time Grand Slam winner. In his three previous clay-court appearances this year, Djokovic has reached just one final, where he was defeated in straight sets by Alexander Zverev.
Although much of the attention in the Men's competition will be focused on the veterans, many people are expecting the greatest challenge to Nadal to come from one of Dominic Thiem or Alexander Zverev.
After making to the semi-finals of last year's competition, Austrian Thiem is currently ranked seventh in the world and has enjoyed a solid clay season so far, reaching the finals in both Madrid and Barcelona, only to be defeated by Nadal. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Zverev has rapidly moved up the world rankings this year, and victory in Rome has seen the German enter the French Open as a top ten player.
Women
Like Nadal in the men's competition, Simona Halep will - if fit enough to compete - enter this year's French open as the clear favourite in the women's half of the tournament, with the Romanian looking to capitalise on the absence of three-time champion Serena Williams. But as it stands she is only rated 50/50 to start.
Currently ranked 4th in the world, the 2014 finalist has excelled on the clay circuit this year, winning in Madrid and making the final at last week's Rome Open, only to lose to Elina Svetolina in three sets. The 22-year-old Ukranian's form ahead of the year's second Grand Slam has also seen her emerge as a favourite for the trophy.
Despite suffering from a string of inconsistent displays, defending champion Garbine Muguruza is still considered as one of the front runners in this year's competition. The 23-year-old's victory over Serena Williams in last year's final secured her first Grand Slam after she lost to the American in the Wimbledon final the year before.
Since then Murguruza has struggled to find consistency. Although the Spaniard reached the semi-final of the Rome Open, she has failed to make it past the Round of 16 in any of the other clay tournaments this year.
What is Andy Murray's record at Roland Garros
There is little question that the French Open is the Grand Slam which has brought Murray least success in his career, with the Brit still yet to win a Roland Garros title.
In fact, last year was the first time Murray has reached the final at Roland Garros, despite appearing in the last four on three occasions, in what was unquestionably his most successful clay season.
10 players you may not have heard of to keep an eye on at the French Open
Things have been far more difficult this time around, with the Brit struggling to replicate his success from last year. The 30-year-old's recent appearance in Rome ended in an early defeat at the hands of Italian Fabio Fognini in the Round of 32. In fact, in his four clay appearances in the build-up to the year's second Grand Slam, Murray has made it beyond the last 16 just once.
In spite of these recent difficulties, Murray's status as the world's best player, along with his ability to play his best tennis in big tournaments, means that the Brit should not be discounted.
What are they saying?
Andy Murray - "A lot of people think I have got no chance of doing anything at the French [Open] after the last couple of weeks, but I think I can still do well there"
Elina Svitolina - "There [are] so many factors ... it's a Grand Slam. There is so much pressure. Everyone is so hungry to win. There is no one I can name as a favorite.”
What are the odds?
Men's winner
Nadal - 5/6
Djokovic- 10/3
Thiem - 10/1
Murray - 12/1
Wawrinka - 12/1
Zverev - 14/1
Women's winner
S. Halep - 7/2
E. Svetolina - 8/1
G. Murguruza - 9/1
K. Mladenovic - 14/1
A. Kerber - 16/1
S. Kuznetsova - 16/1