Source : ABC NEWS
Alex de Minaur will have to negotiate a minefield of a first week at the French Open if he is even to battle his way to a potential quarterfinal date with his nemesis, Jannik Sinner.
The 15-strong Australian contingent will all face tough tests at Roland Garros, with two of the top women, Maya Joint and Ajla Tomljanović facing off against one another in the first round.
Remarkably, the 19-year-old Joint, in her debut Paris main draw, and 32-year-old Tomljanović, in her 10th French Open, will first have a dress rehearsal on Friday in the Morocco Open semifinal in Rabat.
Number nine seed de Minaur, a quarterfinalist last year, has his work cut out to do better this time around as he faces the prospect of a third-round meeting with rising teenage Czech comet Jakub Menšík with the probability of the winner facing British hot shot Jack Draper in the last-16.
De Minaur should have confidence about taking on Serbian Laslo Djere in his opener, a player he’s beaten three times and never lost to, before the possibility of an all-Australian match-up in the last 64 against James Duckworth, should his fellow Sydneysider get past the unpredictable Alexander Bublik first-up.
Maya Joint will take on fellow Aussie Ajla Tomljanović in the first round. (Getty Images: Dan Istitene)
The Aussie star would then likely face Sinner, the returning world number one, who de Minaur has only taken one set off in 10 one-sided defeats, with potentially Novak Djokovic and reigning champ Carlos Alcaraz awaiting beyond that point.
Alcaraz, victor in Rome over Sinner last week, attended the draw and rubbed shoulders with Paris St Germain footballer Ousmane Dembélé at the ceremony.
The Spanish ace will take on former world number four Kei Nishikori in the first round and could meet two-time finalist Casper Ruud in the quarters.
Sinner, just back after a three-month doping ban, will start by having to silence the locals in the first round, who will be backing 196cm-tall local Arthur Rinderknech, the world number 72.
Alexei Popyrin, Australia’s 25th seed, will fancy his chances against Japanese world number 75 Yoshihito Nishioka first up but there are forbidding first hurdles for Chris O’Connell, facing French 22nd seed Ugo Humbert, and Aleksandar Vukic, who’s drawn number 24 seed Karen Khachanov.
The only consolation of the Joint-Tomljanović clash is the guarantee of one Aussie woman at least featuring in the second round.
Olivia Gadecki has the toughest draw of all, up against number two seed Coco Gauff in the first round, while Daria Kastkina, in her first grand slam representing Australia, has a demanding opener against Kateřina Siniaková, the Czech doubles world number who’s still a dangerous singles opponent for anyone.
Iga Świątek, after a fourth consecutive title and fifth overall, starts against Rebecca Sramkova, with the prospect of facing Britain’s former US Open champ Emma Raducanu in the second round.
She’s in the same quarter of the draw as last year’s runner-up Jasmine Paolini, fresh off her Italian Open title, and world number one Aryna Sabalenka, who opens against Kamilla Rakhimova.
Of the 15 Australian hopefuls who started the week in the qualifying tournament at the French Open, only battle-hardened Daria Saville is still left in the hunt for one of the precious Roland Garros main draw places.
The 31-year-old battler had too much know-how on the Paris clay for a promising young Frenchwoman 15 years her junior, Daphnee Mpetshi-Perricard, in the second round of quallies as she eased through 6-2 6-1 on Thursday.
If the world number 134 can next defeat the equally experienced American Taylor Townsend in Friday’s make-or-break third-round qualifier, she’ll make it into the Roland Garros main draw for the ninth time, 10 years since her debut on the Paris red clay.
First round draw for Australian players
Women’s singles
(17) Daria Kasatkina v Kateřina Siniaková (CZE)
Kim Birrell v Jaqueline Cristian (ROM)
Ajla Tomljanović v Maya Joint
Olivia Gadecki v (2) Coco Gauff (USA)
Destanee Aiava v Dayana Yastremska (UKR)
Men’s singles
(9) Alex de Minaur v Laslo Djere (SRB)
(25) Alexei Popyrin v Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)
Jordan Thompson v Jiří Lehečka (CZE)
Aleksandar Vukic v (24) Karen Khachanov (RUS)
Rinky Hijikata v Reilly Opelka (USA)
Adam Walton v Qualifier
Christopher O’Connell v (22) Ugo Humbert (FRA)
James Duckworth v Alexander Bublik (KAZ)
Tristan Schoolkate v Márton Fucsovics (HUN)
AAP/ABC
