Kyrgios, Stosur handed tough French Open draws

Nick Kyrgios and Samantha Stosur have been handed difficult draws in the opening rounds of the French Open.

Melbourne & Olympic Parks, Olympic Blvd, Melbourne VIC • 3001, Australia, 26 May 2017 | AAP

Nick Kyrgios and Samantha Stosur have been handed difficult draws for the French Open starting on Sunday.

In-form Stosur, the 23rd seed and former finalist, opens against Slovakian Kristina Kucova and could strike returning Czech champion Petra Kvitova in the third round and world No.1 Angelique Kerber in the last 16.

Kyrgios, Australia’s highest-ranked player and seeded 18th in the men’s event, opens against German Philipp Kohlschreiber and is projected to meet big local hope and former semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga third up.

Australia’s other big names have landed equally challenging draws, with Bernard Tomic drawing Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem and Thanasi Kokkinakis copping eighth seed Kei Nishikroi in his long-awaited comeback to grand slam tennis.

John Millman plays 17th seed Roberto Bautista-Agut, Jordan Thompson is up against 21st seed John Isner, and wildcard Alex Di Minaur faces unseeded Dutchman Robin Haase.

Di Minaur’s ‘reward’ for a first-up win over Haase is likely to be a second-round show-court showdown with nine-time champion and odds-on favourite Rafael Nadal.

Daria Gavrilova, the women’s 24th seed, has drawn Belgian Elise Mertens in the first round, Ashleigh Barty has a rough opener against American 12th seed Madison Keys and teenage wildcard Jamie Fourlis plays former world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki, the 11th seed.

Ajla Tomljanovic has been pitted against big-hitting 18th seed Kiki Bertens, a semifinalist last year who ended Gavrilova’s big run last week in Rome.

Who the Aussies play in the French Open first round

Women’s singles
[23] Samantha Stosur v Kristina Kukova (SVK)
[24] Daria Gavrilova v Elise Mertens (BEL)
Jaimee Fourlis v [11]Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
Ashleigh Barty v [12] Madison Keys (USA)
Ajla Tomljanovic v [18] Kiki Bertens

Men’s singles
[18] Nick Kyrgios v Philipp Kohlschreiber (GER)
Bernard Tomic v [6] Dominic Thiem (AUT)
Thanasi Kokkinnakis v [8] Kei Nishikori (JPN)
John Millman v [17] Roberto Bautista-Agut (ESP)
Jordan Thompson v [21] John Isner (USA)
Alex Di Minaur v Robin Haase (NED)