Roland Garros draw set for Canadians
Published
Canada's top tennis players have found out who'll they will face in the opening round of this year's French Open.
On the men's side of the draw, Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime, the highest ranked Canadian in the field at No. 10, will take on veteran Fabio Fognini of Italy.
Auger-Aliassime, 22, and Fognini, 36, have only squared off against each other once with the Canadian winning the matchup in 2019.
Auger-Aliassime is coming off the best season of his career in 2022, picking up four event wins, three of which came in October. His best finish at the French Open came last year when he made it to the fourth round. If Auger-Aliassime was to surpass his best ever performance at Roland Garos, he could face World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.
No. 26 Denis Shapovalov will battle American Brandon Nakashima in the opening draw. The 21-year-old Nakashima eliminated Shapovalov, 24, at Wimbledon last year in the Round of 64. Shapovalov made the second round at the French Open in 2018 and 2022. The Richmond Hill, Ont. native is also in Alcaraz's side of the bracket and faces a potential matchup with the World No. 1 if he were to make it to the third round.
On the women's side of the draw, Mississauga's Bianca Andreescu will square off with No. 18 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus in the first-round.
This will be the first time Andreescu, 22, and the 33-year-old Azarenka will play each other. Azarenka's best finish at the French Open came in 2013 when she qualified for the semifinals while Andreescu's best result at Roland-Garros was the second round in 2019 and 2022. The Mississauga, Ont., native draw into No. 1 Iga Swiatek's side of the bracket and would face her in a potential fourth-round match.
Montreal's Leylah Annie Fernandez will play No. 21 Magda Linette of Poland. The pair have squared off twice in their careers with each picking up a win, highlighted by Fernandez's victory over Linette in the Round of 128 at the 2020 French Open.
Fernandez made it to the quarterfinal last year, her best finish at the sport's top tournament on clay.
Finally, Toronto's Rebecca Marino is scheduled to square off with Russia's Diana Shnaider. It will mark the first time they play each other.
The 32-year-old Marino made it to the third-round at Roland-Garros in 2011, her best finish.
The 2023 French Open officially begins Sunday and runs through June 11.