Tennis' new wonderkid, Rafael Nadal, also tipped as one of the favourites at Roland Garros, finds himself in a tough draw at the French Open. According to the line-up announced on Friday, the fourth seed may clash with another rising claycourt star Richard Gasquet in as early as the third round.
The match will be a face-off between two immensely talented 18-year-olds.
Should he overcome Gasquet, and then potentially Gaston Gaudio (5) in the quarters, Nadal will cross swords with Roger Federer in the semis.
World number one Roger Federer though finds himself in a realatively easy draw, at leats till the quarterfinals.
Federer's first-round opponent will be a qualifier or lucky-loser. Initially Federer had been drawn against Robin Soderling, but the Swede was seeded 33 after compatriot Joachim Johansson withdrew.
Spain's Nicolas Almagro should put up more resistance in the second round and Fernando Gonzalez (25), David Nalbandian (10) and Carlos Moya (14) are other potential obstacles on Federer's path to the semis.
DREAM DRAW FOR CORIA
World number-two Andy Roddick has every chance of going further than ever before at Roland Garros. His first adversary, local boy Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, will enjoy his day in the sun, but Argentina's Jose Acasuso should be a more dangerous proposition in the second round. Andre Agassi (6) has a similar outlook, with Igor Andreev likely to provide stiff opposition in the second round.
Guillermo Coria (8) could hardly have dreamed up a better draw. With no clay court specialist in sight until the quarter-finals, the feisty Argentinian should enter the second week with plenty of gas left in the tank.
In theory at least, Marat Safin (3) will stand in Coria's way for a place in the last four. Quite whether the Australian Open champion will get that far is very much open to question. The Russian has been struggling for form on clay and faces former French Open champ Juan Carlos Ferrero (32) as early as the third round.
The 32-seed system generally spares the leading players too stern an examination in the first round, but Carlos Moya (14) - Alberto Martin, Tim Henman (7) - Potito Starace, and Guillermo Cañas (9) - Gaël Monfils all stand out as potential banana skin openers for the seeds. Three-time French Open winner Gustavo Kuerten will have no room for complacency either, against Spain's David Sanchez.
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