One of tennis' greatest Grand Slam events, the illustrious French Open, kicks off this weekend and two of the top stars in tennis will be taking very high seeds in the tournament.
Serena Williams, the No.1-ranked tennis player in the world, drew the No.1 seed in the women's tournament at the premiere clay court of the tennis world. Having won the tournament in 2002, Williams is looking to add another French Open title to an already impressive resume for the Grand Slam champion.
However, she will face a steep field of competition. Williams faces Georgia's Anna Tatishvili in the first round while defending champion Maria Sharapova, seeded No.2 for the tournament, will make her bid for another French Open win when she starts out against Su-Wei Hsieh of Taiwan.
Sharapova looks forward to competing again and defending her title on the clay courts of the French Open.
"It's very meaningful to come back as a defending champion. It means you have done something pretty good, and you're coming back into that position and you're trying to defend it," said Sharapova to the Associated Press. "I think it's one of the best honors you can have as a tennis player."
No.3-ranked Victoria Azarenka will also be at the tournament against 2011 champion Lin Na, as will Agnieszka Radwanska at No.4, taking on 2012 runner-up Sara Errani.
In the men's side, Novak Djokovik drew the top seed in the tourney, setting up a possible semifinals match-up with seven-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal. That would be a rematch of last year's thrilling men's final in the tournament, where Nadal won his third consecutive French Open title by beating Djokovik in four sets.
Nadal himself will face Daniel Brands of Germany in Round 1, while Djokovik takes on David Goffin in the first round. Meanwhile, Roger Federer drew the No.2 seed in the tournament and will clash with Spain's Pablo Carreno-Busta.
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