BIG HITTERS BLOCK ANDY’S PATH IN PARIS

A DIFFICULT pathway was plotted for Andy Murray in yesterday’s draw for a French Open that has already had its share of intrigue. Roger Federer withdrew on Thursday and he was followed onto the absentee list by local hero Gael Monfils. Young French player Constant Lestienne had his wildcard withdrawn after it emerged he was being investigated by the Tennis Integrity Unit. There could be more noises off, with Maria Sharapova’s tribunal ruling expected in the second week, and another lower-profile female player expected to get caught up in the meldonium farrago over the next few days. The individual in question is scheduled to play in the main draw and is believed to have been found with traces of the drug in her system earlier this year. However, the amount may be sufficiently small for her to receive an amnesty under the WADA ruling resulting from doubts over how long the substance — declared illegal from January 1 — takes to the leave the body. By the time the Sharapova decision emerges Murray ought to be closing in on the latter stages. His first round on Monday is against Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek, who pushed him hard in Madrid. After that he could meet giants Ivo Karlovic and John Isner in the third and fourth round, with perhaps the hardest quarter-final of all, against Kei Nishikori. Do not expect any imminent arrival of Ivan Lendl as Murray reiterated yesterday that he is quite content with his current team led by Jamie Delgado. ‘With the way that everything went in Rome and Madrid things are going well just now, so there’s no need to rush into anything. I’m happy with the work I have done with Jamie so far,’ he said. ‘For the grass there is a little bit more time to potentially try something but I haven’t spoken to anyone about it yet except for my team.’ Murray is in the same half as defending champion Stan Wawrinka, while Novak Djokovic could face Rafael Nadal in the semi-final. Britain’s Jo Konta starts against Germany’s Julia Goerges. Heather Watson faces her doubles partner Nicole Gibbs of the USA, while Laura Robson will use one of her last injury exemptions to play the main draw and meets 28th seed Andrea Petkovic of Germany. Naomi Broady takes on American Coco Vandeweghe. Kyle Edmund faces Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili tomorrow and Aljaz Bedene plays another qualifier in Austria’s Gerald Melzer.