25 May 2006

Target Roland Garros



Follow the draw live!

By Guillaume Baraise

Thursday, May 25, 2006

In a first for the tournament, the draw for this year's French Open will partly be done by computer. Don't miss it - live on Friday from 11:30 CET, on the official
site. Fate, and of course the draw, can often play a major part in deciding who wins French Open. This Friday at 11:30 CET, all eyes will be at the Tenniseum, as the Roland Garros tennis museum is called, when the draw will take place. Favourites and outsiders alike will all be dying to know who they will be facing in the first round - and the big names of course will already be looking a little further.


The draw has traditionally been done by hand, but this year, in a first for the tournament, it will partly be done on computer. This will reduce the time required to around 40 minutes, making the draw more dynamic, exciting and fan-friendly, particularly for the tennis lovers following it live around the world on www.rolandgarros.com.

The women's singles will be drawn first, with unseeded players entered electronically into the system, before the 32 seeds are drawn by hand. Names to look out for include Amélie Mauresmo (number 1 seed), Kim Clijsters (2) and last year's winner Justine Henin-Hardenne (5). The seeds have been decided according to the world rankings as of 21 May.

The men's draw will be made in the same way straight afterwards, with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal seeded one and two respectively. All 32 seeded players will be looking to avoid some of the big names lurking outside the 32 in the first round - the likes of Marat Safin, Richard Gasquet and clay-court specialists Nicolas Almagro and Juan Ignacio Chela would be more than a handful for any opponent at any stage. Depending on the draw, they could well provide some first round fireworks.

Roland Garros