PARIS — Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova could meet in the fourth round of the French Open thanks to the draw on Thursday.
But a matchup between three-time champion Williams and two-time champion Sharapova is far from guaranteed.
Williams resumes her comeback after maternity leave following two consecutive losses in March. She will open against 70th-ranked Kristyna Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
This will be Williams' first Grand Slam event since giving birth to her daughter in September. She hasn't played at a Grand Slam since winning the Australian Open in January 2017 while pregnant.
Ranked No. 453, Williams entered Roland Garros under the WTA's protected ranking rule but has not been granted a seed by organizers. Without a seeding, Williams was drawn in the same quarter as Sharapova, who was seeded 28th.
While nobody really knows what to expect from Williams, Sharapova had a chance to fine-tune her clay-court game last week in Rome and made it to the semifinals beating reigning French Open Jelena Ostapenko and losing a three-setter to top-ranked Simona Halep
Halep will open against Alison Riske, and Ostapenko will take on Kateryna Kozlova of Ukraine.
The hard-hitting Ostapenko, who last year became the first unseeded player to win the women's title since 1933, was handed a tricky draw as she could face former No. 1 Victoria Azarenka in the second round.
The tournament starts on Sunday.
In the men's draw, 10-time champion and overwhelming favourite Rafael Nadal will open against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Nadal is arriving in Paris on the back of another impressive clay-court season. He is 19-1 on his favourite surface, having lost just one match in the Madrid quarterfinals this month against Dominic Thiem.
"Having enjoyed the success I had over the last couple of weeks helps to be here with a bit more confidence," Nadal said at the draw.
The seventh-seeded Thiem, who ended Nadal's streaks on clay of 21 wins and 50 sets won, will face a qualifier in the first round. He is in second-seeded Alexander Zverev's quarter and can't meet Nadal before the final.
Former champion Novak Djokovic was drawn in the same half as Thiem and Zverev. He will open against a qualifier.
Entertainment Plaza - TV, Movies, Sports, Music, Soaps
http://almosthuman99.com
Babe Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/babes/babeofthemonth.html
Hunk Of The Month - Vote Now!
http://almosthuman99.com/polls/hunks/hunkofthemonth.html
0 comments:
Post a Comment