Who are you? Guide to rivals of French Open top seeds
Benoit Paire of France hits a return to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during their match at the ATP Tennis Open tournament on May 17, 2017 at the Foro Italico in Rome. PHOTO | TIZIANA FABI |
What you need to know:
- Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) plays top seed Andy Murray.
- Marcel Granollers faces second seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic.
PARIS
AFP Sport looks at the men attempting to upset the top stars at the French Open which gets under way at Roland Garros on Sunday:
Andrey Kuznetsov (RUS) who plays top seed Andy Murray
- Career meetings: Murray leads 2-0
- Kuznetsov, 26, is ranked 85 in the world having once been as high as 39.
- French Open best was third round run in 2015, losing to Rafael Nadal
- Career titles: 0
- Did you know? Kuznetsov is nicknamed 'Andreek' and once harboured ambitions of becoming a singer but "I can't sing".
Marcel Granollers (ESP) who plays second seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic
- Career meetings: Djokovic leads 3-0
- Granollers, 31, is ranked 76 after reaching a career high of 19 in 2012
- French Open best is three appearances in the fourth round, in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
- Career titles: 4
- Did you know? Granollers owed his place in the fourth round at the French Open in 2016 after scheduled third-round opponent Rafael Nadal handed him a walkover because of a wrist injury.
Jozef Kovalik (SVK) who meets 2015 champion and third seed Stan Wawrinka.
- Career meetings: 0
- 24-year-old Kovalik is ranked 152 with a modest career best of 109 in January this year.
- His best French Open is this year as he has qualified for the main draw for the first time.
- Career titles: 0
- Did you know? Kovalik has won just two matches on the main tour in 2017, both coming in Chennai in January when he stunned 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic on his way to the quarter-finals. His prize money for the year so far is $52,000 — he's guaranteed $34,000 for making the first round in Paris.
Benoit Paire (FRA) who plays fourth seed and nine-time winner Rafael Nadal
- Career meetings: Nadal leads 2-0
- Paire is 28 years old and ranked 45 with a career best of 18.
- French Open best saw Paire make the third round in 2013 and 2015.
- Career titles: 1
- Did you know? Paire is nicknamed "La Tige" (the stalk) because he's tall and thin. Combustible nature has seen him kicked off the French Olympic team in Rio and accused of 'tanking' a Challenger match in Italy in 2016.
