• French Open

Murray opens against Ito at Roland Garros

ESPN staff
May 25, 2012
Andy Murray has never played Tatsuma Ito © Getty Images
Enlarge

British No. 1 Andy Murray will kick off his bid for a maiden grand slam title against Tatsuma Ito at the French Open.

Japan's Ito, 24, is currently ranked world No. 69 and has never played the Scot on the ATP Tour. Murray's second-round contest, should he progress, will be against Jarkko Nieminen or Igor Andreev.

Murray has been handed a tough route to the final: he is faced with the prospect of having to beat both David Ferrer in the last eight and Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals.

Nadal, the six-time winner of the tournament, should not have too many problems in his opener against Italy's Simone Bolelli. Nadal cannot play world No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer until the Paris final.

Djokovic's first match is against Potito Starace of Italy, while Federer faces Germany's Tobias Kamke. The Serb, in the same half of the draw as Federer, is aiming to win a fourth consecutive grand slam title.

Meanwhile, in the women's singles, Britain's Elena Baltacha has been matched against the sixth seed and former finalist, Sam Stosur. Anne Keothavong's task is less daunting: she meets Melinda Czink of Hungary, the world No. 116.

Heather Watson has earned a first-round place but is yet to learn who she will face - Ana Ivanovic is a possibility - while Laura Robson plays her final qualifier on Friday.

Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams are on course for a quarter-final showdown, as are Victoria Azarenka and Stosur.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices