Nadal's route to fourth French Open title has its obstacles
PARIS -- Three-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal faces a tough task in his bid to win a record-tying fourth consecutive title following the release of the tournament draw Friday.
Time To Play On Clay
The first 16 seeds for the French Open, where Rafael Nadal tries for a fourth straight title and the retired Justine Henin has vacated her defense.
| Seed | ||
| 1 | Roger Federer | Switzerland |
| 2 | Rafael Nadal | Spain |
| 3 | Novak Djokovic | Serbia |
| 4 | Nikolay Davydenko | Russia |
| 5 | David Ferrer | Spain |
| 6 | David Nalbandian | Argentina |
| 7 | James Blake | United States |
| 8 | Richard Gasquet | France |
| 9 | Stanislas Wawrinka | Switzerland |
| 10 | Andy Murray | Britain |
| 11 | Tomas Berdych | Czech Republic |
| 12 | Tommy Robredo | Spain |
| 13 | Juan Monaco | Argentina |
| 14 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | France |
| 15 | Mikhail Youzhny | Russia |
| 16 | Carlos Moya | Spain |
| Seed | ||
| 1 | Maria Sharapova | Russia |
| 2 | Ana Ivanovic | Serbia |
| 3 | Jelena Jankovic | Serbia |
| 4 | Svetlana Kuznetsova | Russia |
| 5 | Serena Williams | United States |
| 6 | Anna Chakvetadze | Russia |
| 7 | Elena Dementieva | Russia |
| 8 | Venus Williams | United States |
| 9 | Marion Bartoli | France |
| 10 | Patty Schnyder | Switzerland |
| 11 | Vera Zvonareva | Russia |
| 12 | Agnes Szavay | Hungary |
| 13 | Dinara Safina | Russia |
| 14 | Agnieszka Radwanska | Poland |
| 15 | Nicole Vaidisova | Czech Republic |
| 16 | Victoria Azarenka | Belarus |
The second seed, who has never been beaten at Roland Garros since his debut in 2005, is in the same half of the draw as Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Argentina's David Nalbandian.
Following a first-round match against a qualifier, Spain's Nadal could meet Jarkko Nieminen and Mikhail Youzhny before a possible quarterfinal match against Nalbandian and a rematch of last year's semifinal against Djokovic.
The French Open begins Sunday and ends June 8.
"I feel very good physically," said second-ranked Nadal, who will try to equal Bjorn Borg's run of four consecutive crowns from 1978-81. "I don't have any problems."
Top seed and world No. 1 Roger Federer, chasing the only Grand Slam title to have eluded him, faces a first-round test against American Sam Querrey, who had a surprising run to the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters last month.
"My focus is on Sam Querrey and not the final," Federer said. "Querrey is a good player who is improving. He played well in Monaco."
A possible fourth-round encounter with Argentina's Juan Monaco, the world's 14th-ranked player, could be in the cards.
One of the highlights for Federer could be a quarterfinal-round match against compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, seeded ninth.
No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko got arguably the toughest draw. The Russian will face Thomas Johansson of Sweden in the first round. If he gets past that, he could meet former No. 1 Marat Safin in the second round, Ivan Ljubicic in the third round and Juan Carlos Ferrero in the fourth.
Wawrinka grabbed the limelight this season by reaching the Barcelona Open semifinals and the Rome Masters final, where he lost in three sets to Djokovic.
Then a semifinal battle with Spain's David Ferrer could loom for Federer.
Brazil's Gustavo Kuerten, who won the tournament in 1997, 2000 and 2001 and will retire once his last French Open appearance is over, faces Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu in the first round.
In the women's draw, last year's runner-up Ana Ivanovic of Serbia faces a daunting task in her bid to win her first Grand Slam title.
Even though the path has been cleared for many contenders since four-time champion Justine Henin retired suddenly last week, Ivanovic could meet Lucie Safarova, who reached the last 16 in 2007, as soon as the second round.
Ivanovic, the Australian Open finalist, could then meet another Czech, Nicole Vaidisova, in the fourth round, 2002 champion Serena Williams in the quarterfinals and compatriot Jelena Jankovic in the semis.
Top seed Maria Sharapova, the world No. 1 since Henin retired, looks set to progress smoothly before a possible Russian steeplechase begins in the fourth round, where she could meet Dinara Safina.
"Coming in this year, the French Open is the one [Grand Slam title] I haven't won" said Sharapova, who's won all three other Grand Slam titles. "It's exciting. It's the toughest one. But that's why I'm here. I love the challenges."
If she survives a possible quarterfinal match with 2004 finalist Elena Dementieva, Sharapova could face fourth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova.
Williams said Henin's retirement made it the right time for her to win a second French Open title. Williams is the only former winner in the draw.
"It's always the right time but it's unfortunate one of the best players on clay won't be here," Williams, who begins play against compatriot Ashley Harkleroad, said Friday.
Henin, who won four French Open titles in the past five years, retired from tennis last week as the world's top-ranked player, leaving Paris hopefuls with greater expectations than last year.
Asked how she would rate her title chances, Williams said: "I feel like my scale is going up right now. I feel like so far I've probably gotten to a 5 or a 6 but I'm still able to climb up.
"It's probably the best preparation I've had since 2002. I'm really comfortable out there on the clay, so it's great."
Williams, who has eight Grand Slam titles to her name, said she has shrugged off a back problem that forced her to retire from her Italian Open quarterfinal match against France's Alize Cornet in Rome last week.
"I'm definitely 100 percent fit," she said. "I'm feeling a lot better than last week."
Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.
