French Open 2015 Draw: How to Catch Reveal of Roland Garros Field
To say the 2015 French Open field will be wide open in terms of contending for the trophy would be putting it lightly.
For the first time in over a decade, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal—who has won each of the last five French Opens—looks far from his usual best entering the year's second Grand Slam. He put the clamps on so much of the competition at Roland Garros over the last decade but will be hard-pressed to continue that over the next two weeks.
While the sport has featured some young stars emerging over the last couple of years, few have been able to muster up success at Roland Garros, but that could change quickly.
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Here's a look at how to catch Friday's draw.
2015 French Open Draw
Date: Friday, May 22
Time: 5:30 a.m. ET (11:30 a.m. Paris time)
Where: Roland Garros, Paris, France
Preview
Not one to back down to a tough challenge that presents itself on clay courts, Nadal's work ahead of him this year would more than likely produce his most impressive French Open victory of them all if he completed another title.
Always the beneficiary of a strong seed due to his career dominance, 2015 won't produce the same for Nadal. He comes into Roland Garros with a lowly No. 7 seed, ensuring that he will have to face tougher competition than expected in the fourth round and quarterfinals.
To make matters worse, this year marks the first time in more than a decade that he's failed to notch a title on clay before the French, as LiveTennis noted:
"Not since 2004 has #RafaelNadal failed to win a European clay-court tournament before the French Open #context
— Live Tennis (@livetennis) May 15, 2015"
In tuneup play at the Rome Masters, Nadal looked a couple of shades away from his typical self. He fell in straight sets to Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinal, which is exactly the type of opponent that could lurk in the latter rounds.
With the winner of the last five French Opens reeling, expect the top seed to give a furious charge as Novak Djokovic eyes some history of his own.
Djokovic has yet to complete the career Grand Slam despite his dominance, but he'll have the chance to change that in Roland Garros. He's a whopping 35-2 on the year, after winning the Australian Open and notching the Rome Masters as of recent.
While Djokovic is eyeing his first title at the French Open, there will be plenty of dangerous contenders who are simply trying to break through with their first major.
Kei Nishikori could be one of them, as the 25-year-old is putting it together in 2015 after knocking on the door of his first Grand Slam at last year's U.S. Open. Another dangerous foe is Nick Kyrgios, who made a run at the Australian Open and took to Twitter to shoot down any rumors:
Throw in Roger Federer attempting to win just his second French Open and Andy Murray looking to once again prove he shouldn't be overlooked, and the field is flush with different personalities and playing styles gunning for the French Open.
It may turn out that Nadal's greatness on clay is simply too much to overcome, and he very well could right the ship before falling victim to an upset at Roland Garros. But if he were to do so, it would be a shock in regard to how he's played thus far in 2015.
With that said, the draw Friday should reveal more than it has in quite some time, indicating just how tough it truly will be for Nadal to win French Open No. 10.
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