Australia’s Alex de Minaur will need to bring some of his best tennis to Paris as several tricky opponents stand in the seventh seed’s way before a potential quarter-final meeting with Novak Djokovic at Roland Garros.
De Minaur will face a qualifier or a lucky loser in the opening round before a likely clash with unseeded world No.36 Alexander Blockx in the second round.
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The pair have already met this year in the Round of 16 in Monte Carlo with de Minaur prevailing in straight sets in a tight tussle 7-5, 7-6.
Belgian is in good touch on the clay since, having reached a semi-final in Madrid before world No.3 Alexander Zverev also halted his charge in Rome.
The Australian, meanwhile, has been in a slump.
De Minaur has lost four of his last six matches since reaching the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo last month.
He will desperately need to turn his form around if he is to match his best ever grand slam result and reach the final eight in Paris for a second time.
Blockx will be a tough test as will potential third and fourth opponents 26th seed Jakub Mensik and 11th seed Andrey Rublev.
Pass those tests and a date with Djokovic would await in the quarter-final.
The Serbian great will be viewing this year’s trip to Paris as perhaps his best opportunity yet to win a record 25th slam.
With Carlos Alcaraz ruled out of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, world No.1 Jannik Sinner stands in Djokovic’s way but with them placed on opposite sides of the draw, they will be unable to meet until the last Sunday of the tournament.
The Italian is looking to complete the career slam in Paris, but Djokovic will be hoping that scars are still present from his semi-final victory at Melbourne Park if they meet in the final.
Djokovic will first have to get through big serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, while Brazilian rising star Joao Fonseca could present an exciting third round match-up.
The 38-year-old has only played four matches since losing to Alcaraz in Melbourne, including a first up loss in Rome less than a fortnight ago.
Sinner will also face a local hope first up in French wildcard Clement Tabur with his path through the early rounds appearing straight forward for the 24-year-old who has won the last five tournaments he has played in.
A potential quarter-final with Daniil Medvedev would make for an interesting clash.
Australia’s Alexei Popyrin may meet Medvedev in the second round if he gets past Zachary Svajda and the former world No.1 downs countryman Adam Walton.
Fellow Australian Aleksandar Vukic is on that side of draw as he faces Belgium’s Raphael Collignon for a likely second clash with fifth seed Ben Shelton.
Rinky Hijikata has been drawn against 24th seed Tommy Paul, while James Duckworth will take on Gabriel Diallo of Canada.
Thanasi Kokkinakis will likely have to take on the Parisian crowd as well as Frenchman Terence Atmane in their first round clash.
Meanwhile, Australia’s women have been handed a series of brutal first round match-ups.
With no Australian seeded for the clay court major, there was always the chance of several daunting matches coming the nation’s way and that has proven to be the case with three Australian women forced to tackle seeds in the first round, including top of the two five players in the world.
Rising star Emerson Jones was awarded a wildcard to make her main draw debut in Paris, but the pleasantries ended there with the 17-year-old to face four-time Roland Garros champion Iga Swiatek.
Kimberley Birrell will also have her back against the wall in the first round as she has been drawn to face fifth seed Jessica Pegula.
Australia’s top-ranked player, world No.51 Maya Joint, will also take on a seeded opponent in 28th seed Anastasia Potapova.
Daria Kasatkina will face Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey with a potential clash with world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka awaiting in the third round if she can make another run at the slam she reached the final four of in 2022.
Talia Gibson, who has enjoyed a breakout year by coming through qualifying to reach the quarterfinals at Indian Wells and the Round of 16 at the Miami Open, takes on Yulia Putintseva.
World No.57 Gibson will have her work cut out of her as the Kazakh is a two-time quarterfinalist in Paris.
Ajla Tomljanovic will take on American Caty McNally for a likely second round meeting with 11th seed Belinda Bencic.
Reigning champion Coco Gauff could face Sabalenka in a repeat of the 2025 final in the last four this year, after the pair were placed in the same half of the women’s draw.
American fourth seed Gauff, who beat Sabalenka in a tense final 12 months ago, will start her title defence against compatriot Taylor Townsend.
Sabalenka, who has never won the Roland Garros title, could face several tricky matches during the tournament, which gets under way on Sunday.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka is a potential last-16 opponent for Sabalenka, although the Japanese star has never previously reached the second week in Paris.
Rising Canadian star Victoria Mboko or fifth seed Jessica Pegula could await the Belarusian in the quarters.
Sabalenka will take on Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain in the first round. Gauff may need to get past fellow American Amanda Anisimova, who lost the Wimbledon and US Open finals last year, in the last eight.
Four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek, seeded third, could meet Italian Open winner Elina Svitolina in the quarters.
Second seed Elena Rybakina, who won the year’s opening Grand Slam event at the Australian Open, is slated to meet Swiatek in the semi-finals.
There is a possible all-Southeast Asian clash in the second round between Indonesia’s Janice Tjen and the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala.