French Open Tennis 2016 Draw: Complete Bracket Analysis and Review

The 2016 French Open draw is set. So let the speculating and anticipation begin.

The buzz is all about a potential clash between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. We'll get to that. 

But first, it's important to address the many pre-tournament upsets, as in fans upset that Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Juan Martin del Potro, Gael Monfils, Caroline Wozniacki and Belinda Bencic won't be playing.

Still, there's plenty of drama among the contenders. The dominant Djokovic looks more vulnerable than venerable, having lost the Internazionali BNL d'Italia final to Andy Murray.

With just one tournament title in ninth months, Serena Williams went from a no-show to a show-stopper in Rome. Now she's back to being the clear favorite. 

Djokovic rolls into Roland Garros with a massive points lead at No. 1. However, rankings and points leads didn't help fend off Stan Wawrinka last year. Speaking of Stanimal, he's flying pretty low under the radar for a defending champion. 

That's because Nadal has risen. Ranked No. 5, Nadal took the No. 4 seed after Roger Federer's withdrawal. Djokovic may be No. 1, but he's never been crowned at Roland Garros. It's Nadal, the nine-time French Open champion, who has to be dethroned.  

On the women's side, Williams is trying to defend her title and capture her 22nd Grand Slam trophy. That would match Steffi Graf for most in the open era. 

It won't be easy. Williams drew Victoria Azarenka in her quarter and Australian Open winner Angelique Kerber in the top half. Both women have defeated Williams, in a final, this year. 

Both top seeds are trying to break through—Djokovic for the first time and Serena to make history. Their toughest fight may rest between the ears. 

The following is a complete bracket analysis and review of the 2016 French Open.

Top Seeds

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Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka pose during the trophy ceremony at the 2015 French Open.

Click the links to read the men's and women's complete draws. 

Men

1. Novak Djokovic
2. Andy Murray
3. Stan Wawrinka
4. Rafael Nadal
5. Kei Nishikori
6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
7. Tomas Berdych
8. Milos Raonic
9. Richard Gasquet 
10. Marin Cilic
11. David Ferrer
12. David Goffin
13. Dominic Thiem
14. Roberto Bautista Agut
15. John Isner
16. Gilles Simon

Women

1. Serena Williams
2. Agnieszka Radwanska 
3. Angelique Kerber
4. Garbine Muguruza
5. Victoria Azarenka
6. Simona Halep
7. Roberta Vinci 
8. Timea Bacsinszky
9. Venus Williams 
10. Petra Kvitova
11. Lucie Safarova
12. Carla Suarez Navarro
13. Svetlana Kuznetsova
14. Ana Ivanovic
15. Madison Keys
16. Sara Errani

Men's Favorites with an Easy Draw

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Novak Djokovic shows off the runner-up trophy at the 2015 French Open.

Novak Djokovic (No. 1)

Djokovic can roll into the fourth round without breaking a sweat. He opens against Yen-Hsun Lu.  He gets a qualifier in the second round. Federico Delbonis (No. 31) is the likely opponent in the third round. Roberto Bautista Agut (No. 14) is the projected fourth-round opponent. 

That's more than manageable. In the second week, Djokovic could face Berdych in the quarterfinals and of course, Nadal in the semis.

Andy Murray (No. 2) 

If players could place an order for a deliciously sweet draw, it would look something like what the tennis gods served up for Andy Murray. 

What a tasty hodgepodge of a meal deal. There's five qualifiers, two slow-moving tall dudes (Isner and Ivo Karlovic) and unranked erratic American (Donald Young) in Murray's quarter. 

Things could get interesting in the quarterfinals with potential matches against Nishikori, Richard Gasquet or Nick Kyrgios. But Murray will probably be so well-rested from the first week off, it won't be a significant challenge.

Men's Favorites with a Tough Draw

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Rafael Nadal during a match at the 2016 BNL d'Italia.

Rafael Nadal (No. 4)

Nadal's potential semifinals battle against Djokovic is grabbing all the headlines. However, Nadal has to get past some tricky opponents before worrying about Djokovic. 

The Spaniard opens against Australian big man Sam Groth. Nadal could face new nemesis Fabio Fognini in the third round. Last year, Fognini defeated Nadal three times. 

Then the ATP World Tour's highest-ranking teen, Dominic Thiem (No. 13) might be waiting in the fourth round. Thiem defeated Nadal in Buenos Aires earlier this year. 

If Nadal gets passed Fognini and Theim, he may face Tsonga and a frenzied French Open crowd in the quarterfinals.

Tomas Berdych (No. 7)

Berdych is on that short list with Tsonga and Ferrer for best active players who have never won a Grand Slam. Leaving that group won't be easy. Berdych opens against Vasek Pospisil—a young Canadian who reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year. 

He could face Pablo Cuevas (No. 25) in the second round and Ferrer in the fourth round. Ferrer might be the most gifted clay-court player to never win the French Open. If Berdych survives Ferrer, he gets Djokovic in the quarterfinals and possibly Nadal in the semis.

Women's Favorites with a Tough Draw

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Serena Williams during a match at the 2015 French Open.

Serena Williams (No. 1)

Williams must maneuver around serious potholes on her road back to the French Open final.  

She faces a possible quarterfinals matchup with Azarenka and a semifinal showdown with Kerber. Azarenka defeated Williams in the Indian Wells final. Kerber defeated Williams in the Australian Open final. 

But Williams likes to play her way into form at Grand Slams. She'll get that chance with a slew of heavy hitters in her quarter of the draw. She opens against Magdalena Rybarikova. Williams won their only previous meeting (quarterfinals at the 2013 Rogers Cup). 

She then faces a potentially tricky match against France's Kristina Mladenovic in the third round. Mladenovic has had recent doubles success with partner Carolina Garcia. She'll also have the French crowd behind her.

Angelique Kerber (No. 3)

Kerber's draw is a mixed bag of young and tricky opponents. She opens against Kiki Bertens. Their only meeting was at the Miami Open this year. They split sets, and Kerber was up 3-0 before Bertens retired. Kerber could get the always-difficult Camila Giorgi in the second round and then the talented teen Daria Kasatkina (No. 29) in the third. 

Kerber's projected to face either Johanna Konta (No. 20) or Madison Keys (No. 15) in the fourth round. Then she'll have to go through 2015 French Open semifinalists Timea Bacsinszky in the quarterfinals and the either Azarenka or Serena Williams in the semifinals.

Roberta Vinci (No. 7)

Vinci, 33, sports a career-high ranking going into what is probably her final French Open. Yet what does she get for it? A nightmare draw.

She opens against Kateryna Bondarenko whose having her own late-career revival. Then Vinci may have to take on Germany's Annika Beck who is also at a career high. Ball-bashing Coco Vandeweghe, ace bandit Karolina Pliskova (No. 17) and veteran Bethanie Mattek-Sands lurk in Vinci's quarter of the draw. 

Vinci faces a potential third-round match against Irina-Camelia Begu (No. 25), a fourth-round tussle with Petra Kvitova and a quarterfinal matchup with Garbine Muguruza.

Women's Favorites with an Easy Draw

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Agnieszka Radwanska hits a backhand at the 2016 Miami Open.

Agnieszka Radwanka (No. 2)

Radwanska lucked out when Angelique Kerber slipped back to No. 3 after failing to defend points during the clay-court season. This puts Radwanska on the opposite side of the draw from Serena Williams. 

With the exception of Simona Halep, the notable seeded players in Radwanska's quarter of the draw—Lucie Safarova, Sara Errani, Sloane Stephens, Barbora Strycova and Samantha Stosur—are not playing their best tennis.  Safarova, a finalist in last year's French Open, is still recovering from a bacterial infection that took her away from the game for months.

Errani, a 2012 French Open finalist, could present problems in the fourth round. However, this draw is as good as it gets.

Garbine Muguruza (No. 4) 

In the bottom half of the draw with Radwanska, Muguruza won't have to face a Williams sister, Azarenka, Kerber or Keys until the final.

This presents Muguruza with perhaps the best opportunity to win a Grand Slam since she reached the Wimbledon final last year. Of the ranked players in this half of the draw, only Kvitova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Stosur have won a Grand Slam. That's five Slam titles in this half versus 28 on the other side. 

Muguruza opens against Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, who could provide a challenging first-round match. Christina McHale is never a pushover, but Muguruza should have no problems overpowering her. Her most likely third-round opponent, Ekaterina Makarova (No. 27), is in the midst of a slump.

Kuznetsova in the fourth round is the biggest threat to keeping Muguruza out of the French Open final. Surviving a clay-court tussle with Kuznetsova would make potential quarterfinal match with Vinci or Kvitova and a semifinal meeting with Radwanska seem much easier.

Outlook for the American Men

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Jack Sock hits a forehand during the 2016 Madrid Open.

It's been 17 years since an American male won the French Open. Unless there are a string of shocking upsets, the drought will continue.

Andre Agassi won the French Open in 1999. Jim Courier won back-to-back French Open titles in 1991 and 1992. Courier's victory in 1992 gave Americans three of four French Open titles from 1989 (Michael Chang) to 1992. 

This year, the prospects aren't good. John Isner is the top-ranked American at No. 15. He opens against Australia's John Millman.

Along with Isner, Donald Young, Sam Querrey and Jack Sock (No. 23) find themselves in Murray's half of the draw. Sock opens up against Robin Haase and is in Milos Raonic's quarter. 

Perhaps the future of American tennis, Taylor Fritz, 18, opens against Croatia's Borna Coric, 19. Croatia's future looks a bit brighter right now.

Outlook for the American Women

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Martina Navratilova looks on as Serena Williams accepts trophy for winning the 2015 French Open.

Unlike their male counterparts, American women bring a strong field into this year's French Open.

Serena Williams leads team USA at No. 1. She's followed by sister Venus (No. 9), Madison Keys (No. 15) and Sloane Stephens (No. 19). 

Christina McHale, Vandeweghe, Samantha Crawford, Mattek-Sands, Irina Falconi, Lauren Davis, Shelby Rogers, Nicole Gibbs and Alison Riske all earned their way into the main draw. Taylor Townsend, ranked 174, received a wild card.

Sachia Vickery and Louisa Chirico made it through qualifiers into the main draw. 

With Williams and Keys as serious contenders and Stephens and McHale with upset-making potential, American women should have a solid showing at Roland Garros.

Must-See First-Round Matches

Ettore Ferrari/Associated Press

Eugenie Bouchard hits a forehand at the 2016 BNL d'Italia.

Men

• Milos Raonic (No. 8) vs. Janko Tipsarevic
• Richard Gasquet (No. 9) vs. Thomas Bellucci
• Victor Troicki (No. 22) vs. Grigor Dimitrov
• Steve Johnson (No. 33) vs. Fernando Verdasco
• Borna Coric vs. Taylor Fritz

Women

• Sloane Stephens (No. 19) vs. Margarita Gasparyan 
• Johanna Konta (No. 20) vs. Julia Goerges
• Andrea Petkovic (No. 28) vs. Laura Robson
• Daria Kasatkina (No. 29) vs. Anna-Lena Friedsam
• Eugenie Bouchard vs. Laura Siegemund

Wild Cards to Watch

THOMAS KIENZLE/Getty Images

Laura Siegemund reacts to upsetting Agnieszka Radwanska at Stuttgart.

Nick Kyrgios (No. 17 )

By just missing the top 16, Nick Kyrgios becomes a dangerous floater. Kyrgios is playing better than Isner and Gasquet, with both seeded above him in Murray's quarter of the draw. 

Kyrgios has a surprisingly easy start at Roland Garros. He opens against No. 124 Marco Cecchinato and gets a qualifier in the second round.

He could face Gasquet in the third round. Unpredictable, Kyrgios could blow up Murray's half of the bracket.

Laura Siegemund 

Unseeded, the 28-year-old German is experiencing a late-career surge. She comes to Roland Garros ranked No. 39, close to her career high of No. 38, reached earlier this month. She's ranked No. 24 in the Road to Singapore.  

Siegemund drew Eugenie Bouchard in the first round and would face Bacsinszky in the second round. Although Siegemund spent most of her career on the ITF circuit, she's a streaky player whose game is suddenly coming together.

She defeated Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Radwanska—in successive matches—before falling to Kerber in the Stuttgart final. This year, she also has clay-court wins over Kuznetsova and Keys.

Predictions for the Men's Tournament

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Stan Wawrinka poses with his new trophy after winning the 2015 French Open.

Quarterfinals

Novak Djokovic (No. 1) vs. Berdych (No. 7)

Andy Murray (No. 2) vs. Kei Nishikori (No. 5) 

Stan Wawrinka (No. 3) vs. Mios Raonic (No. 8)

Rafael Nadal (No. 4) vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (No. 6)

Semifinals

Djokovic vs. Nadal

Murray vs. Wawrinka

Final

Djokovic vs. Murray

Winner

Djokovic

Predictions for the Women's Tournament

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/Getty Images

Garbine Muguruza hits a forehand during a match at the 2016 BNL d'Italia.

Quarterfinals

Serena Williams (No. 1) vs. Victoria Azarenka (No. 5)

Madison Keys (No. 15) vs. Timea Bacsinszky (No. 8)

Roberta Vinci (No. 7) vs. Garbine Muguruza (No. 4)

Simona Halep (No. 6) vs. Sara Errani (No. 16)

Semifinals

Williams vs. Keys

Muguruza vs. Errani 

Final

Williams vs. Muguruza 

Winner

Williams