French Open 2017 TV Schedule, Draw, Live-Stream Listings for Entire Tournament
Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic's pairing in the same half of the men's draw is the big story headed into the 2017 French Open at Roland Garros, Paris.
Nadal is bidding for a 10th title on French clay but will have to get past defending champion Djokovic to earn himself a piece of history. Elsewhere, world No. 1 Andy Murray will meet Russian Andrey Kuznetsov in the opening round. Murray is joined in his half of the draw by 2015 winner Stan Wawrinka.
Meanwhile, women's No. 1 Angelique Kerber is in the top half of the draw, away from Simona Halep. However, Kerber is on the same side as defending French Open champion Garbine Muguruza.
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The full men's draw is available on to the Roland Garros official website. The same source also has the full women's draw.
Before a closer look at the ties, here are the viewing details and schedule.
Dates: Sunday, May 28, to Sunday, June 11.
TV Info: ITV 1 and ITV 4 (UK). NBC (U.S.).
Live Stream: ITV Player, NBC Sports App and Tennis Channel.
The Roland Garros Twitter account revealed when the initial matches will be played:
Preview
As the ATP World Tour official website detailed, Djokovic faces some potentially tricky matches as the tournament progresses should he get past first-round opponent Marcel Granollers. Among Djokovic's most daunting prospects is a possible quarter-final meeting with Dominic Thiem.
A strong record on clay makes Thiem an opponent to be wary of, per the same source: "Thiem, who opens his bid against Bernard Tomic, lost to Djokovic in last year's Roland Garros semi-finals. The Austrian has won six ATP World Tour clay-court crowns and is 17-4 on the surface in 2017."
Djokovic is in solid form ahead of this event despite recently losing the Italian Open final to the precocious Alexander Zverev in Rome. The former world No. 1 will count on Andre Agassi's coaching to give him the edge at Roland Garros.
By contrast, Murray has found life at the top tough in 2017. The Scot needs a comprehensive win over Kuznetsov to restore some much-needed confidence.
Even if he makes it through, Murray could face a difficult time in the third round, according to BBC Sport's Russell Fuller:
Since he begins against a qualifier, capable Argentinian Juan Martin del Potro is a good bet to progress and be waiting for Murray in Round 3. There are also other challenges for Murray in the draw after he was put in the same half as both Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori.
However, most of the focus will be on Nadal, who will begin his quest for history against Frenchman Benoit Paire. As the Daily Telegraph pointed out, Nadal has looked unbeatable on clay recently: "Nadal has been the dominant player of the clay-court season and has won 17 straight matches on his favourite surface."
Yet it's not as though the draw hasn't presented some daunting potential obstacles for the tournament favourite. In particular, a possible last-eight meeting with Milos Raonic rates as an obvious concern for Nadal.
In the women's draw, Kerber will be wary about the presence of Muguruza. Yet both players' more immediate concerns might be their potential quarter-final ties, per Metro's George Bellshaw: "Svetlana Kuznetsova is due to face Kerber in the quarter-finals, while Dominika Cibulkova is a potential opponent at that stage for Muguruza."
It's going to be tricky for Kerber to reach the last eight, though, with Fuller bemoaning the challenging first match awaiting the world No. 1:
Kerber and Muguruza will both be aware of the opportunity Serena Williams' absence from Roland Garros has afforded them. There will also be those watching out for Halep, who is capable of beating anybody in the draw on her day.
Nadal's bid for history and Muguruza's attempts to defend the title mean Spanish interest will be high during this tournament. However, Spanish dreams will struggle to be realised with Djokovic on hand to deny Nadal, while Halep can thwart Muguruza.
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