Osaka gets rematch in French Open draw
Naomi Osaka will not have the luxury of easing into her return to the courts of the French Open, facing a tough foe in her very first match.
Week 2 at Roland Garros, meanwhile, could be quite fascinating for Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — the three leading favorites for the men’s title ended up on the same side of the bracket for the clay-court Grand Slam tournament, meaning only one can reach the final.
Thursday’s draw at Roland Garros also set up two tantalizing possibilities in the fourth round for No. 1ranked Iga Swiatek, the 2020 champion who is on a 28-match winning streak. She might need to go up against 2018 champion
Simona Halep at that stage or 2017 champion
Jelena Ostapenko — who happens to be the last woman to defeat Swiatek.
The tournament begins Sunday.
Osaka is a four-time Grand Slam champion who used to be No. 1 in the rankings but has slipped to No. 38 in part because of a lack of activity.
That included time off for a mental health break after she withdrew from Roland Garros ahead of her second-round match last year, revealing that she has dealt with anxiety and depression.
Djokovic, who is the defending champion and seeded No. 1, could meet Nadal in the quarterfinals. A year ago, Djokovic beat Nadal in the semifinals, before erasing a two-set deficit against Stefanos Tsitsipas to win the final.
Elsewhere: Secondseeded Casper Ruud advanced to the Geneva Open semifinals in defense of his title by beating Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 7-6 (7-3). Ruud will next face fourthseeded American Reilly Opelka, who beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. The other semifinals pairing Friday is Richard Gasquet and Joao Sousa.
ETC.
Soccer: Female referees will make World Cup history this year by working games at a major men’s tournament for the first time in Qatar. Three female referees and three female assistant referees were announced by FIFA among 129 officials selected for World Cup duty. Ismail Elfath, 40, is the lone American among 36 referees selected by FIFA for this year’s World Cup . ... Real Madrid has signed a stadium management deal for the Santiago Bernabeu worth $381 million, the club said. The deal with the U.S.-based companies comes with Madrid close to signing Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe, who would arrive as a free agent but command a clubrecord salary. The 23-yearold Mbappe’s contract with PSG expires at the end of this season.
NFL: Longtime Ravens punter Sam Koch retired and will join the Baltimore coaching staff as a special teams consultant. A 16-year veteran, Koch, 39, appeared in a franchise-record 256 regular-season games, 239 consecutively from 200620, also a team record. He was a member of Baltimore’s 2012 Super Bowl championship team
Cycling: Italian cyclist Stefano Oldani claimed his first professional victory by winning the 12th and longest stage of the Giro d’Italia while Juan Pedro Lopez kept the pink jersey at Genoa, Italy.