The draws and seedings for this year’s Roland Garros were officially revealed on Friday with Rafael Nadal and Dinara Safina clinching the top seedings for the men’s and women’s singles events respectively.
Familiar faces may be seen contesting the most prestigious title on clay with Nadal and Federer drawn into opposite sides of the draw, the same case with sisters Venus and Serena Williams. Nadal and Federer had contested the title for the past three years with the Spaniard prevailing in all of those matches to keep his perfect win streak in Paris.
Serena will face off against Klara Zakopalova in the first round. The second seed won’t be taking this match lightly since she suffered defeat from the Czech player at a claycourt event in Marbella a month ago. Venus Williams, seeded third, will face fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.
Safina, currently on a winning streak after clinching Rome and Madrid Open titles, will also have a tough first match against Britain’s Anne Keothavong – a semifinalist at the Warsaw Open this week.
On the men’s side, Nadal will start against a qualifier while Federer will face Spain’s Alberto Martin.
Should the seedings hold, this will be the scenario:
Men
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (8) Fernando Verdasco
(2) Roger Federer vs. (6) Andy Roddick
(3) Andy Murray vs. (7) Gilles Simon
(4) Novak Djokovic vs. (5) Juan Martin Del Potro
Women
(1) Safina vs. (8) Ana Ivanovic (defending champ)
(2) Serena Williams vs. (7) Svetlana Kuznetsova
(3) Venus Williams vs. (6) Vera Zvonareva
(4) Elena Dementieva vs. (5) Jelena Jankovic
First round matches begin on Sunday.
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