Roger Federer Will Have Little Problem Reaching Finals at French Open

It appears that Roger Federer received quite a favorable draw heading into the French Open, and that should help him quite a bit when it comes to reaching the finals of this Grand Slam event.

As the No. 3 player in the world, Federer’s draw for the 2013 French Open is quite nice.  He is in the opposite half of the bracket that Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic share, so he wouldn’t face either of these players until the final round.

What makes his draw even better this year is that Andy Murray will not play due to a back injury.

It’s hard to doubt Federer in this field.  He is a 17-time Grand Slam champion with a victory at Roland Garros in 2009, the only player not named Nadal to win the event in the past eight years.

His career at the French Open isn’t his best Grand Slam event, but he has still had quite a bit of success.  He’s reached the final five of the last eight times along with an appearance in the semifinals last year.

The potential path for Federer in the tournament would likely include Gilles Simon and Sam Querrey, who could give him a bit of a test but not much of one.

Things could possibly get interesting in the quarterfinals, where Federer should be going up against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, the sixth-seeded player in the tourney.

Tsonga was able to beat Federer in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon two years ago, even after trailing two sets to love.  However, Federer is looking sharp this season, and should be able to knock off Tsonga.

The semifinals would be interesting as well, as Federer would have to face David Ferrer. 

Ferrer is a strong player on clay, with a 15-5 record this season on clay courts.  He made it to the semifinals at this event last season, his best finish of his career. 

This could be a heck of a match between the two, but Federer is simply the better overall tennis player.  His career in Grand Slam events speaks for itself, even at this event.  Meanwhile, Ferrer is still searching for his first career Grand Slam title.

The luck of the draw certainly helps out Federer, so he should be the heavy favorite to enter the finals.  However, it will certainly be a tough test for him in the finals if he goes up against Djokovic or Nadal.