Draw pits Nadal against Gerasimov
Rafael Nadal will begin his bid for a record-extending 13th French Open title against Egor Gerasimov in the first round, while Serena Williams starts her attempt for a record-equaling 24th major against Kristie Ahn in all-American matchup.
The 34-year-old Nadal, who is seeded second and has never faced the 83rdranked Belarusian, is aiming to equal the absent Roger Federer’s men’s record of 20 Grand Slam titles. Nadal holds a 93-2 record at Roland Garros.
The sixth-seeded Williams, who turns 39 on Saturday, fell short in her bid to equal Margaret Court’s record at the U.S. Open, losing to Victoria Azarenka in the semifinals. Williams has won the French Open three times, the first in 2002 and the last in 2015.
Thursday’s draw at Roland Garros also pitted top-ranked Novak Djokovic against No. 80 Mikael Ymer of Sweden in their first career meeting.
Djokovic, who could face powerful Russian Karen Khachanov in the fourth round, is trying again for an 18th major title.
Like Williams, he fell short at Flushing Meadows but for a very different reason.
The 33-year-old Serb was kicked out for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat when angrily swiping away a tennis ball during a match. His only title at the French was in 2016 and he lost the final in ‘14 to Nadal and ‘15 to Stan Wawrinka.
The draw was carried out electronically because there were no players present amid a strict coronavirus health and safety protocol.
Wawrinka, seeded 16th, faces another three-time major winner in Britain’s Andy Murray, the runnerup in 2016. Murray leads Wawrinka 12-8 overall but is still trying to get back to his best after having hip surgery last year.
Djokovic tuned up for this tournament with victory at the Italian Open, beating Diego Schwartzman in the final for a record 36th Masters title. Schwartzman beat a patchy Nadal in the quarterfinals — the Spaniard’s first tournament in seven months after he skipped the U.S. Open amid COVID-19 concerns.
Dominic Thiem, who beat Alexander Zverev in five sets in the U.S. Open final for his first major, takes on big-hitting Marin
Cilic — the 2014 U.S. Open champion — in their first meeting at Roland Garros.
Thiem has lost the past two finals at Roland Garros to Nadal.
Zverev plays Austrian Dennis Novak.
Top-seeded Simona Halep, the 2018 champion and two-time runner-up, faces Spaniard Sara Sorribes Tormo.
U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka pulled out of the tournament with an injured hamstring.
Halep is seeded first because No. 1 Ash Barty of Australia opted out of defending her title amid coronavirus concerns.
Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, seeded fourth, plays Russian Liudmila Samsonova; thirdseeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine is up against Varvara Gracheva, and the 10th-seeded Azarenka faces Danka Kovinic.