Roland Garros Main Draw
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Top Flight: Contenders Residing In Top Half Of Roland Garros Men's Draw
By Richard Pagliaro
Life may be lonely at the top, unless you're residing in the top half of the Roland Garros men's draw where sweeping through the semifinals will be as easy as swiping the smile off the Mona Lisa's face. The top half of the men's draw is cluttered with capable contenders for the clay court championship, that begins on Monday in Paris.
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French Open finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero may be seeded third, but remains the primary pick to seize the first Slam of his career. Ferrero, who faces Swiss Michel Kratochvil in the first round, could play either 2000 tournament runner-up Magnus Norman or Nicolas Massu in the second round. Ferrero's first test could come in the fourth round with a potential match with either 20th-seeded Spaniard Felix Mantilla, the reigning Rome champion, or 14th-seeded French man Sebastien Grosjean, who was a quarterfinalist last year and a semifinalist two years ago.
Should Ferrero advance to the quarterfinals as expected, he would likely play either sixth-seeded Andy Roddick or 19th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez for a semifinal spot against an assortment of possible contenders including Kuerten, Hewitt, Calleri or Costa.
Though the top half offers top-flight talent, it's tough to bet against Ferrero. The owner of a 16-3 record at Roland Garros, Ferrero has reached at least the semifinals in all three of his career appearances in Paris. Barring injury, he's the best bet to reach his second straight final.
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Top Flight: Contenders Residing In Top Half Of Roland Garros Men's Draw
By Richard Pagliaro
Life may be lonely at the top, unless you're residing in the top half of the Roland Garros men's draw where sweeping through the semifinals will be as easy as swiping the smile off the Mona Lisa's face. The top half of the men's draw is cluttered with capable contenders for the clay court championship, that begins on Monday in Paris.
[...]
French Open finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero may be seeded third, but remains the primary pick to seize the first Slam of his career. Ferrero, who faces Swiss Michel Kratochvil in the first round, could play either 2000 tournament runner-up Magnus Norman or Nicolas Massu in the second round. Ferrero's first test could come in the fourth round with a potential match with either 20th-seeded Spaniard Felix Mantilla, the reigning Rome champion, or 14th-seeded French man Sebastien Grosjean, who was a quarterfinalist last year and a semifinalist two years ago.
Should Ferrero advance to the quarterfinals as expected, he would likely play either sixth-seeded Andy Roddick or 19th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez for a semifinal spot against an assortment of possible contenders including Kuerten, Hewitt, Calleri or Costa.
Though the top half offers top-flight talent, it's tough to bet against Ferrero. The owner of a 16-3 record at Roland Garros, Ferrero has reached at least the semifinals in all three of his career appearances in Paris. Barring injury, he's the best bet to reach his second straight final.
[...]
