Emma Raducanu is ready to go at the French Open despite her back injury scare, and will play Chinese world No42 Wang Xinyu in the first round.
The 22-year-old took a medical timeout during her defeat to Danielle Collins in Strasbourg on Wednesday, saying afterwards she had suffered a back spasm.
But Mail Sport understands the pain has eased and Raducanu was en route to Paris as Thursday’s draw took place.
That was the good news, along with a decent first-round draw. The bad news is Raducanu is likely to face four-time Iga Swiatek in the second round. The Pole is in wretched form but that remains the tallest of orders for Raducanu.
Jack Draper will attempt to win his first ever match at Roland Garros as he takes on fellow leftie Mattia Bellucci, the world No68 from Italy.
Expectations are high for the No5 seed despite being yet to trouble the scorers in Paris. After his run to the final in Madrid and the quarters in Rome Draper has shown he can be a threat on clay.
If he gets through, Draper could face a testing battle with 38-year-old Frenchman Gael Monfils, the man who can electrify this Roland Garros crowd more than any other. Big-serving 30th seed Hubert Hurkazc or Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca could come in the third round and in the quarters Draper could meet his close friend and world No1 Jannik Sinner.
A pretty tough draw, then, for the British No1, and reaching the fourth round would represent a good effort.
Draper’s childhood rival Jacob Fearnley is making his French Open debut and got his customary big-name draw – he will play 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka. Still strong as a bull at 40 years old, Wawrinka ended Andy Murray’s Roland Garros career here last year in the first round. Fearnley should exact some Scottish revenge against a man almost twice his age.
British No1 Katie Boulter faces a qualifier and could meet Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the second round. Cam Norrie has a tough one against Daniil Medvedev – who beat him in Rome – and Jodie Burrage will also be a significant underdog against Danielle Collins.
Sonay Kartal, like Fearnley making her debut here, has a winnable draw against Erika Andreeva, elder sister of the prodigious No6 seed Mirra.
In qualifying, British No3 Francesca Jones came from a set down to beat Japan’s Mai Hontama and on Friday will try to win her way into the main draw.
The overall story of the men’s draw was a dream runout for defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who cannot face Sinner, Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev before the final.
Djokovic, who turned 38 on Thursday, has a good early draw – starting against Mackenzie McDonald – which should allow him to play his way into the tournament.
Assuming she gets past Rebecca Sramkova and then Raducanu, the Pole could face in turn: Marta Kostyuk, Elena Rybakina (or Jelena Ostapenko whom Swiatek has never beaten), Jasmine Paolini and Aryna Sabalenka. And that is all before the final. With her form in tatters, it would take a herculean effort for the No5 seed to get through that lot and claim a fifth title in Paris.
