Australian tennis’s big guns won’t be lacking opportunities at the French Open after suffering a rough time at Friday’s draw in Paris. Spearheads Samantha Stosur, Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios were all guaranteed to avoid seeds until at least round three – but they won’t have to wait long before running head first into tournament heavyweights.
Stosur, Australia’s top-ranked player, former runner-up and two-time semi-finalist, opens against American Madison Brengle and is projected to meet defending champion and world No2 Maria Sharapova in round three.
Tomic, the 27th seed, faces a qualifier first up and could strike world No1 and hot title favourite Novak Djokovic in the third round.