French Open 2017: Tournament Draw Schedule and Favorites with Challenging Paths

Men's world No. 1 Andy Murray and women's world No. 1 Angelique Kerber have each received difficult draws ahead of the 2017 French Open.

Murray is on the same side of the draw as 2015 Roland Garros champion Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori, while Kerber opens her tournament against Ekaterina Makarova, and her potential path to the final gets even more challenging after that.

Roland Garros' official Twitter feed shared the full draws for the men's and women's singles:

The draws can also be found at the tournament's official website, as can the full schedule.

World No. 1s Kerber and Murray Face Tough Draws

Kerber's tournament starts with what is likely to be a difficult contest against Makarova, who has won five of their 12 meetings in the past including their most recent match in Sydney last year.

The New York Times' Ben Rothenberg believes the Russian is in with a good chance of upsetting the German:

Lesia Tsurenko is Kerber's likely second-round opponent should she pass that test, but, as Rothenberg noted, there are several other strong players in her half:

Roberta Vinci could provide an experienced obstacle in the third round, and the Italian won their last meeting on clay back in 2015, while 23rd seed Sam Stosur or 15th seed Petra Kvitova should await in the following round.

Kerber could then face eighth seed Svetlana Kuznetsova in the quarter-final. The Russian has the edge in their head-to-head record having won four of their seven matches, including knocking Kerber out of the French Open back in 2013.

Should Kuznetsova fail to make the quarter-finals, her opponent would most likely either be Caroline Wozniacki or Kiki Bertens, who beat Kerber at Roland Garros last year.

Michel Euler/Associated Press

If Kerber does reach the semi-finals—which would make it her most successful French Open to date—she'll be set to face defending champion Garbine Muguruza.

Potential finalists on the other side of the draw include Simona Halep, Karolina Pliskova and Agnieszka Radwanska.

Kerber has been given few favours with the draw, and this year's tournament will truly put her skills to the test for her to retain her world No. 1 status.

As for Murray, he has avoided Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem on his side of the draw, but his potential route to the final is littered with strong opponents, per the Times' Stuart Fraser:

While the Scot should have little trouble getting through the opening two rounds, Juan Martin del Potro represents a particularly tricky player to face as early as the third.

Murray beat the Argentinian in the Olympic final last year, while Del Potro overcame him in five sets in the Davis Cup semi-final.

Tomas Berdych hasn't beaten the 30-year-old in their last seven meetings, but he can nevertheless cause unwanted problems before two potentially titanic clashes against Nishikori and Wawrinka.

Murray is yet to win the French Open, losing his solitary final last year against Djokovic. If the draw pans out as expected, winning it this year will be extremely difficult.