French Open 2022: Teen Carlos Alcaraz starts bid on Day 1 in Paris

A glance at the French Open, the second Grand Slam tennis tournament of 2022:

SURFACE

Red clay courts

SITE

Roland Garros on the outskirts of Paris

SCHEDULE

Play begins Sunday at the only 15-day Grand Slam tournament (the others last exactly two weeks). There are scheduled night sessions, like at the U.S. Open and Australian Open. The women’s singles final is Saturday, June 4; the men’s singles final is Sunday, June 5.

ALSO READ: French Open 2022 Women’s singles draw: Preview and prediction – Who can stop in the indomitable Iga Swiatek?

SEEDINGS

Iga Swiatek is seeded No. 1 in the women’s draw; Novak Djokovic is seeded No. 1 in the men’s draw. The seedings follow the WTA and ATP rankings.

2021 WOMEN’S SINGLES CHAMPION

Barbora Krejcikova, Czech Republic

2021 MEN’S SINGLES CHAMPION

Novak Djokovic, Serbia

LOOKAHEAD TO SUNDAY

The only Grand Slam tournament that begins on a Sunday gets going with an end-of-day chance for the world to watch Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard who recently turned 19 and is generally considered a future champion. The No. 6-seeded Alcaraz will close the Day 1 schedule at Court Philippe Chatrier against Juan Ignacio Londero, a 28-year-old from Argentina who is ranked 141st. Londero is only 6-9 over his career at major tournaments, but he did make a run to the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2019 before losing to 13-time champion Rafael Nadal. 

ALSO READ: French Open Men’s singles draw preview: Nadal faces uphill task in top-heavy draw; Djokovic, Tsitsipas eye finale repeat

For Alcaraz, this will be his sixth Grand Slam appearance and second in Paris. His best Slam showing was reaching the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open last year; he lost in the third round in his French Open debut in 2021. Other players in action Sunday include 2016 French Open champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens, 2021 U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez, American teenager Coco Gauff and No. 6 seed Ons Jabeur among the women, along with 2020 U.S. Open champion Dominic Thiem, Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev and No. 9 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime among the men.

SUNDAY FORECAST

Cloudy. High of 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 Celsius).

KEY STATISTIC I

18 — Alcaraz’s age when he first reached the ATP’s top 10 this year, making him the youngest player to climb that high since Rafael Nadal in 2005.

KEY STATISTIC II

25 — Number of players in the women’s draw, out of 128, who are making their main-draw debut at Roland Garros this year.

PRIZE MONEY

Total: 43.6 million euros (about $46 million), an increase from 34.4 million euros (about $36.5 million) in 2021, when COVID-19 restrictions led to attendance limits at Roland Garros. The singles champions will collect 2.2 million euros (about $2.3 million) apiece — up from 1.4 million euros (just under $1.5 million) in 2021, but down down from 2.3 million euros (about $2.4 million) in 2019, when the last pre-pandemic French Open was held.

This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text.