French Open 2013 Draw: Stars with Toughest Roads to Title

The 2013 French Open draw is live and there are several intriguing storylines set to take place as the yearly event kicks off.

Will Serena Williams continue her terror on women’s tennis? Can Rafael Nadal win his eighth French Open title in nine appearances?

All of the stars of both the men’s and women’s will be on hand in Roland Garros to answer those questions and more over the next two weeks.

Despite there being clear-cut favorites, a competition of this magnitude is sure to have its surprises. Everyone will have to run the gauntlet in order to win the crown of this year’s second Grand Slam tournament.

Here are a couple of big-name stars that will have to rise to top form in order to avoid disappointment after seeing this year’s draw.

Maria Sharapova

Last year Maria Sharapova captured the French Open crown after Serena Williams was shockingly beat by Virginie Razzano in the opening round. Since then Williams is 67-3, according to AP reporting (via USA Today), and has captured Wimbledon, U.S. Open and London Olympics titles.

Recently, Williams knocked off Sharapova, WTA’s second-ranked women’s player behind her, on clay in Madrid.

Sharapova doesn’t have an easy path to a finals date with Williams either. In order to even reach that potential blockbuster matchup, she will have to work her way through a tough draw, including a quarter that features Samantha Stosur and Sloane Stephens.

If she makes it to the semifinals, she might encounter the tough competition from her half: Victoria Azarenka, Maria Kirilenko or Na Li.

Sharapova was knocked out of the 2011 French Open by Li, her only clay-court loss to her in four attempts. She also has had mixed results against Azarenka (5-7) but has won both of their previous meetings on clay.

Novak Djokovic

No. 1 seed or not, it’s hard to imagine ATP’s top-ranked men’s player Novak Djokovic running the table and then defeating Rafael Nadal in the tournament semifinals. As Sky Sports notes (via Twitter), the two giants are on a collision course to meet in Roland Garros.

If he manages to ouster the Spanish French Open master he’ll potentially have to subsequently hold off Roger Federer, who could await him in the finals.

It isn’t an impossible task for Djoker, but it is a daunting one nonetheless.

Last year, Nadal captured the clay-court crown by handily dispatching him in the final in four sets (6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5). There never was much doubt despite a third-set rally by Djokovic.

USA’s John Isner (19) and fellow countryman Janko Tipsarevic will provide the biggest challenge to Djokovic as he prepares for his likely duel with Nadal.

He could also find himself in a rematch against Grigor Dimitrov, also in his half, who shocked him in Madrid earlier in May. The road to his first French Open title will certainly be arduous.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer is well rested, but questions have to be asked as to whether or not he is capable of running the table and then knocking off premier players like Nadal and Djokovic—especially on clay.

His Achilles' heel has always been slick clay courts and, rest or not, we could very well witness the aging superstar’s weakness get the best of him in Roland Garros.

Nadal's recent dominance over Federer on clay at the 2013 Italian Open really exemplifies the disparity between the two right now, especially on clay.

Despite the odds being stacked against the one-time French Open winner, Federer has drawn a favorable bracket. If he can build momentum and command his serve, he could find himself in the finals. Both Nadal and Djokovic were drawn into an opposite bracket, but that doesn’t mean it will be an easy ride for FedEx.

He was recently upset on the clay courts of the Madrid Open by 14th seed Kei Nishikori in May. In addition, he hasn’t won a title thus far in 2013.

Federer can be the most dominant in the world at times, and has a favorable draw to help him in France. It’s hard to label his draw too favorable, though, because he simply isn’t playing great tennis and struggles on clay.

We might see a late-season Federer resurgence but it won’t likely be in Roland Garros.

Men's Seeds

Seed	Player	Nationality
1	Novak Djokovic	SRB
2	Roger Federer	SUI
3	Rafael Nadal	ESP
4	David Ferrer	ESP
5	Tomas Berdych	CZE
6	Jo-Wilfried Tsonga	FRA
7	Richard Gasquet	FRA
8	Janko Tipsarevic	SRB
9	Stanislas Wawrinka	SUI
10	Marin Cilic	CRO
11	Nicolas Almagro	ESP
12	Tommy Haas	GER
13	Kei Nishikori	JPN
14	Milos Raonic	CAN
15	Gilles Simon	FRA
16	Philipp Kohlschreiber	GER
17	Juan Monaco	ARG
18	Sam Querrey	USA
19	John Isner	USA
20	Andreas Seppi	ITA
21	Jerzy Janowicz	POL
22	Alexandr Dolgopolov	UKR
23	Kevin Anderson	RSA
24	Benoit Pare	FRA
25	Jeremy Chardy	FRA
26	Grigor Dimitrov	BUL
27	Fabio Fognini	ITA
28	Florian Mayer	GER
29	Mikhail Youzhny	RUS
30	Julien Benneteau	FRA
31	Marcel Granollers	ESP
32	Tommy Robredo	ESP

*Men's seeds courtesy of RolandGarros.com

Women's Seeds

Seed	Player	Nationality
1	Serena Williams	USA
2	Maria Sharapova	RUS
3	Victoria Azarenka	BLR
4	Agnieszka Radwanska	POL
5	Sara Errani	ITA
6	Li Na	CHN
7	Petra Kvitova	CZE
8	Angelique Kerber	GER
9	Samantha Stosur	AUS
10	Caroline Wozniacki	DEN
11	Nadia Petrova	RUS
12	Maria Kirilenko	RUS
13	Marion Bartoli	FRA
14	Ana Ivanovic	SRB
15	Roberta Vinci	ITA
16	Dominika Cibulkova	SLV
17	Sloane Stephens	USA
18	Jelena Jankovic	SRB
19	Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova	RUS
20	Carla Suarez Navarro	ESP
21	Kirsten Flipkens	BEL
22	Ekaterina Makarova	RUS
23	Klara Zakopalova	CZE
24	Julia Goerges	GER
25	Lucie Safarova	CZE
26	Sorana Cirstea	ROU
27	Yaroslava Shvedova	KAZ
28	Tamira Paszek	AUT
29	Varvara Lepchenko	USA
30	Venus Williams	USA
31	Alize Cornet	FRA
32	Sabine Lisicki	GER

*Women's seeds courtesy of RolandGarros.com

For full men's and women's brackets, please visit RolandGarros.com.