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TENNIS
French Open Tennis Championships

French Open: Seven things you need to know

Nick McCarvel
Special for USA TODAY Sports
In this May 25, 2014, file photo, Serena Williams makes a return against Alize Lim during a first round match at the French Open.

PARIS — Tucked in a leafy residential area in the Boulogne-Billancourt neighborhood on the city's outer edge, the French Open begins Sunday, with the world's best tennis players converging to vie for the sport's biggest clay-court title.

What are the story lines to watch during the 2015 tournament?

Nadal's 2015 woes: Rafael Nadal is the talk of Paris leading up to Roland Garros, but not in the way he has been in years' past. A nine-time champion here, he is a confounding 66-1 in 10 appearances, but this season has appeared human on this surface, going 17-5 and winning none of the big spring clay events for the first time in his career. Nadal will face top seed and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals as the No. 6 seed should they both make it that far.

Djokovic chasing career Slam: While Nadal is reeling, top rival Djokovic is brimming — no, bursting — with confidence as he looks to finally complete his career Grand Slam. The world No. 1 is 35-2 this season and has won 23 matches in a row, including major clay stops in Monte Carlo and Rome in the lead-up. The Serbian beat Nadal in straight sets on clay in that spell, his fifth win in 19 tries on the surface against the Spaniard.


Williams, Sharapova on collision course: At some point, Maria Sharapova has to beat Serena Williams again, right? Not according to Williams. The world No. 1 hasn't lost to the Russian in more than 10 years, a 16-match stretch that included their Australian Open final this year, bringing Williams' head-to-head lead to 17-2. It was perhaps their closest encounter in years, and Sharapova appears to be peaking on the clay right when she needs to: She won in Rome last week as Williams withdrew with an elbow injury. They are the top two seeds in Paris.

Andy Murray, clay expert? Yes, you read that right. Britain's Murray, never known for his prowess on the slow surface, has won his first two career titles on it this season, first at a small event in Munich and then a much bigger stop in Madrid, where he downed Nadal in a two-set final. Murray is undefeated on the dirt this year, having pulled out of Rome with fatigue. The secret? Well, he hasn't lost a match since marrying Kim Sears on April 11.

Halep, Kvitova looming: While Williams and Sharapova are the favorites, the women's draw is full of contenders, including No. 3 seed Simona Halep of Romania, the runner-up a year ago. The same goes for No. 4 seed Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon champion, who was the surprise winner in Madrid. Also worth keeping an eye on: Caroline Wozniacki, Carla Suarez Navarro and Timea Bacsinszky.

Federer forgotten: The Djokovic-Nadal-Murray talk has left Roger Federer somewhat in the dust. But the only man in this field to win the title here aside from Nadal is Federer, the No. 2 seed, and at 33 he can still make a run. He won his 85th career title at a clay warm-up event in Istanbul this month. Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic is the fourth seed, Kei Nishikori of Japan No. 5 and Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland No. 8. Milos Raonic, the big-serving Canadian, is out after having foot surgery.

Tiafoe, 17, makes debut: The USA could have a future Grand Slam champion in Frances Tiafoe, 17, a wild-card entry who'll make his major tournament debut. Tiafoe will be the youngest American man to play in the French Open since Michael Chang did so at the same age in 1989. Now No. 291, Tiafoe will face Martin Klizan, the world No. 35, in the first round.

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