Roland Garros 2015
Originally published on 22/05/15
After failing to win a trophy on the European clay swing, Rafael Nadal slipped to his lowest ranking since 2005. It means the 14-time Grand Slam champion will be seeded No.6 in Paris, his lowest seeding at a Grand Slam in over a decade, when he was ranked No.56 at the 2005 Australian Open.
"I'm going to be ranked lower than ever playing Roland Garros, so that will mean the chance to play against very tough opponents," said Nadal, who could face world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. "I won so many times there…it's normal that I could lose. Losing is part of life. I can be there, play bad and lose early, but I'm going to fight to change that and try to fight again to have a good tournament.
Rafael Nadal
French Open best: Champion (2005-2008, 2010-2014)
Roland Garros 2014: Champion (d. Djokovic in final)
Not for the first time, Nadal arrives in Paris with question marks over his form. However, it is the first time that the Spaniard has failed to win a title during the European clay swing since 2004. Having lost just one match in ten years at Roland Garros, Nadal always saves his best for Paris, but will a tenth French Open crown be a step too far
ROLAND GARROS 2015
Selected men's singles first round matches:
Novak Djokovic [1] v Jarkko Nieminen
Grigor Dimitrov [10] v Jack Sock
Quentin Halys v Rafael Nadal [6]
Andy Murray [3] v Qualifier
Denis Istomin v Nick Kyrgios [29]
Lukas Lacko v David Ferrer [7]
Kei Nishikori [5] v Paul-Henri Mathieu
Qualifier v T Berdych [4]
Stan Wawrinka v M Ihlan
Qualifier v Roger Federer [2]
Projected quarter-final match-ups
Djokovic v Nadal
Murray v Ferrer
Nishikori v Berdych
Wawrinka v Federer
Selected women's singles first round matches:
Serena Williams [1] v Qualifier
Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor v Victoria Azarenka [27]
Mathilde Johansson v Heather Watson
Sloane Stephens v Venus Williams [15]
Karin Knapp v Caroline Wozniacki [5]
Petra Kvitova [4] v Marina Erakovic
Belinda Bencic v Daniela Hantuchova
Kristina Mladenovic v Eugenie Bouchard [6]
Ana Ivanovic [7] v Yaroslava Shvedova
Evgeniya Rodina v Simona Halep [3]
Carla Suarez Navarro [8] v Monica Niculescu
Kaia Kanepi v Maria Sharapova [2]
Projected quarter-final match-ups
S Williams v Wozniacki
Kvitova v Bouchard
Ivanovic v Halep
Suarez Navarro v Sharapova
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