Roger Federer

The 2021 French Open men's and women's singles draws were released Thursday, with Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty as the No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets.

Djokovic, 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal and 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer are all on the same side of the men's tournament:

2021 men's singles draw 👇#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/1KbyAN2V3a

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2021

Barty, who won the 2019 French Open but skipped last year's event amid the COVID-19 pandemic, received a favorable draw with Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams among the big names in the opposite half:

2021 women's singles draw 👇#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/GfB9eJzgHJ

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 27, 2021

Djokovic and reigning French Open champion Nadal faced off in the Rome Masters final earlier this month, with the King of Clay scoring a three-set victory, and they're the top two players to beat in the French Open. It's unfortunate they can't meet in the final of the season's second Grand Slam, but it would make a terrific semifinal.

Federer isn't on the same level right now. He returned in March after 13 months on the sideline since undergoing knee surgery last February.

He's won just one match in the two events he's played this year, and he admitted winning his second title this year at Roland Garros isn't achievable.

"I'm just realistic that I know I will not win the French and whoever thought I would or could win it is wrong," Federer told reporters last week. "Of course, crazier things might have happened, but I'm not so sure in the last 50 years at the French Open, somebody just rocked up at 40 years old, being out for a year and a half and just go on to just win everything straight."

Still, the trio's presence on one side of the draw opens the door for players on the other half, a group led by Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev.

On the women's side, a potential third clay championship showdown between Barty and Aryna Sabalenka is in the cards after they landed on opposite side of the draw.

They faced off in both Stuttgart (Barty in three sets) and Madrid (Sabalenka in three sets) over the past month, and a tiebreaker in the French final would be fitting.

Osaka, who's on Sabalenka's side of the draw, is probably the player with the best chance to spoil that budding rivalry. The four-time major champion announced Wednesday she'll skip media briefings throughout the tournament:

❤️ pic.twitter.com/EegFSKnoie

— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) May 26, 2021

Defending women's champ Iga Swiatek is in Barty's half, but a potential meeting wouldn't come until the semifinals.

Meanwhile, It's hard to know what to expect from Williams, who's played just two tournaments since reaching the Australian Open semifinals in February and gone 1-2 in those events.

The 23-time major champion tends to rise to the occasion on the Grand Slam stages, however, so it's impossible to rule out another deep run at Roland Garros.

Play in the French Open begins Sunday with coverage on NBC and Tennis Channel.

Rafael Nadal has a chance to earn as many Roland Garros victories as Pete Sampras had major tournament wins at the 2021 French Open.

The 13-time champion on the Paris clay is once again the favorite to win the event, but he is not one of the top two seeds. 

Novak Djokovic and Danill Medvedev are ranked above the Spanish southpaw for the French Open draw. Roger Federer is even further down the chart as the No. 8 seed. 

The younger generation of men's tennis stars will once again take aim at the "Big Three" of Nadal, Djokovic and Federer, but until that group wins on a consistent basis, the trio of 30-plus-year-olds have to be viewed as favorites at every major. 

The same can't be said on the women's side, especially after Iga Swiatek blew away the competition last fall in Paris. 

Swiatek is the No. 8 seed for this year's event, which welcomes back Ashleigh Barty as the No. 1 seed. Barty did not defend her 2019 French Open title after she opted out of the tournament. 

The 2021 French Open will start on May 30. The women's title match will take place on June 12 and the men's final is scheduled for June 13.

        

2021 French Open Schedule

Dates: May 30-June 13

TV: Tennis Channel and NBC

Live Stream: Peacock, NBCSports.com and NBC Sports app

         

Odds (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Men's Singles

Rafael Nadal (-118; bet $118 to win $100)

Novak Djokovic (+400; bet $100 to win $400)

Stefanos Tsitsipas (+800)

Dominic Thiem (+900)

Alexander Zverev (+1800)

Andrey Rublev (+3300)

     

The older guard of men's tennis has remained dominant at majors, despite all three of them being deep into their 30s. 

Dominic Thiem's 2020 U.S. Open win marked the only time Djokovic, Federer and Nadal did not win a major since 2017. That title may come with an asterisk to some since Djokovic was disqualified from the tournament. 

Thiem is likely the best option to choose from the younger generation to challenge a member of the "Big Three."

The Austrian reached the French Open final in 2018 and 2019, and he has tested Nadal and Djokovic in Grand Slam finals over the last three years. 

Medvedev broke through at the Australian Open with a final appearance, but he lost in straight sets to Djokovic. 

The second-seeded Russian is notoriously bad on the clay. He has four first-round exits at Roland Garros in the last four years, which is why he is down at +9000 to win the French Open. 

Federer is directly in front of Medvedev on the odds chart at +7000. While we know his quality at Grand Slams, the Swiss legend spent most of last season working on injury issues and is not expected to win over Nadal and Djokovic. 

While it may be hard to bet on long shots in the men's field, keep an eye on Jannik Sinner if you choose to go that route. 

The 19-year-old Italian advanced to the French Open quarterfinals in 2020 and is seeded 18th for this year's event. 

          

Women's Singles

Iga Swiatek (+280)

Ashleigh Barty (+460)

Aryna Sabalenka (+650)

Garbine Muguruza (+1200)

Naomi Osaka (+1700)

Serena Williams (+2100)

Elina Svitolina (+2300)

Petra Kvitova (+2500)

     

As always, the women's singles field is much more wide open than the men's bracket, and that typically leads to a more entertaining two weeks of tennis. 

Last fall, Swiatek emerged out of obscurity to become the seventh first-time Grand Slam winner on the women's circuit since 2018. 

Swiatek faces a much different role coming into the 2021 event as the favorite and the No. 8 seed. She followed up the Roland Garros win with a fourth-round run at the Australian Open in February. 

Barty has to be viewed as a strong betting play at +460 since she was the champion two years ago and enters as the No. 1 seed. 

The Australian opened the European clay-court season with a tournament victory in Stuttgart. Aryna Sabalenka beat Barty in the Madrid final and Swiatek captured the Rome title. 

Sabalenka has the most to prove out of the trio of top players on the odds board. She has not made it past the fourth round at a major, but the win over Barty in Madrid may be a sign that she is ready to contend in the second week of a major. 

American teenager Coco Gauff is worth a look as a long-shot winner. She captured first at the recently completed tournament in Parma, Italy, and made the semifinals in Rome. 

In addition to the favorites and the top rising star, you always have to consider Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams to be in the mix for major titles.

A lack of recent success in Paris is the reason why Williams and Osaka are deeper on the odds chart than usual. Williams has not won at Roland Garros since 2015, and Osaka has not advanced past the third round in her last four trips to the clay. 

        

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Tennis legend Roger Federer is set to auction off over 300 pieces of memorabilia from his Hall of Fame career to benefit his Roger Federer Foundation.

AFP's Eloi Rouyer reported Thursday that Federer is hoping to raise at least $1.4 million from two separate auctions, a live sale June 23 in London and an online sale from June 23 through July 14.

"The Roger Federer collection is the most important single-owner collection of sporting memorabilia that has ever come to the market," Christie's continental Europe managing director Bertold Mueller said.

Federer made his professional debut in 1998, and his first notable breakthrough came when he reached the semifinals of the men's tennis tournament at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

The live auction will include 20 items from the 39-year-old Swiss superstar's appearances in tennis' four Grand Slam tournaments, and the online auction is going to feature around 300 lots from other events dating back to the 2000 Summer Games, per Rouyer.

"Roger Federer started collecting these items as early as 2000 with the help and support of his parents, of his wife, and they have collected these items for more than 20 years now, keeping them safe, labelling them, cataloging them," Mueller said. "They always had in mind that at some point they would want to turn it into something good, and now ... Federer has decided that the moment has come to put this all up for auction."

Among the items in the collection include the outfits he wore for the 2009 French Open final and the racket he used to win the 2012 Wimbledon title.

The most recent lots come from his comeback in the Doha event in March, which marked his first ATP Tour appearance since last year's Australian Open.

All sales benefit the Roger Federer Foundation, which "supports educational projects located in the region of southern Africa and Switzerland" with a focus on the "improvement of the quality of early learning and basic education and in Switzerland on the promotion of extracurricular activities for children affected by poverty."

Federer lost to Pablo Andujar in the Geneva Open on Tuesday, and he provided a blunt assessment of his chances to win the French Open, the season's second major that begins May 30.

"I think when you played so little and you know where your level is at, and I think you saw that today, how can I think of winning the French Open?" he told reporters. "I'm just realistic that I know I will not win the French, and whoever thought I would or could win it is wrong."

Federer will look to round into form before the start of Wimbledon, which he's won a record eight times on the men's side, in late June.

Roger Federer's final tuneup for the 2021 French Open ended abruptly when he was upset in the second round of the Gonet Geneva Open on Tuesday. 

Playing in just his second tournament of the year, Federer lost 4-6, 6-4, 4-6 to Pablo Andujar. 

Federer is still trying to work himself back into shape after missing most of the past year because of a knee injury that required surgery. The 39-year-old did have a chance to win the match after taking a 4-3 lead in the final set, but he was unable to close it out. 

In his first event of 2021, Federer lost to Nikoloz Basilashvili in the quarterfinals of the ExxonMobil Open in March. He took two months off after that before announcing his return in Geneva. 

“Happy to let you know that I will play Geneva and Paris. Until then I will use the time to train. Can’t wait to play in Switzerland again,” Federer wrote in April about his return.

The Geneva Open was also going to provide the Swiss native with an opportunity to get himself acclimated to playing on clay before going to Roland Garros. 

This is the final tournament on the ATP Tour before the French Open begins Monday. Federer's lone win at that event came in 2009. He advanced to the semifinal in his last appearance at Roland Garros two years ago. 

Roger Federer is back. 

The tennis superstar announced he is planning to return for the Gonet Geneva Open and the French Open in May:

Hi everyone!
Happy to let you know that I will play Geneva🇨🇭 and Paris 🇫🇷. Until then I will use the time to train. Can’t wait to play in Switzerland again. ❤️🚀

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) April 18, 2021

Federer, 39, last played at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in March, losing in the quarterfinals to Nikoloz Basilashvili. He played only the Australian Open in 2020, losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, as the COVID-19 pandemic affected that season on the whole. 

In 2019, he went an impressive 52-10, winning four singles titles, though no Grand Slams (losing in the Wimbledon Finals to Djokovic and the French Open semifinals to Rafael Nadal). 

The tennis legend has been recovering from two arthroscopic right knee surgeries he underwent last year. 

That Federer continues to play at such a high level when healthy is astonishing and a testament to both his greatness and durability, though that durability has been questioned this year. He also finds himself locked with Nadal atop the list of most Grand Slam singles titles ever at 20, and whichever player finishes with more when they both retire will have a strong claim as the best men's player ever. 

Djokovic is knocking on that door too with 18. It will be tough for any of those men to catch Serena Williams, who holds the overall Grand Slams singles record in the Open Era with 23 (Margaret Court holds the overall record with 24).  

Getting Federer back for the French Open, then, will make for compelling theater. Granted, topping Nadal on clay is always a huge task. Federer has won at Roland Garros just once (2009), while Nadal has toppled the tournament a record 13 times. 

Roger Federer returned to competition this week after his long layoff injury, eventually losing in the Qatar Open quarterfinals to Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-3, 1-6, 5-7 on Thursday.

Following the loss, Federer tweeted that he would be skipping next week's tournament in Dubai and returning to training:

It’s been great to be back on the @atptour , loved every minute playing in Doha once again. 🙌🏼
A big thank you to the best and loyal team that helped me get here. 🙏🏼
I’ve decided it’s best to go back to training and as a result, I’ve decided to withdraw from Dubai next week. 🏋🏽 pic.twitter.com/zp65Jt832n

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) March 11, 2021

The 39-year-old Federer beat Dan Evans on Wednesday, his first match in nearly 14 months after having two knee surgeries in 2020.

"I'm happy I am back on the tour," he said after Thursday's loss. "I'm pleased I came here to Doha. So it's really, really a positive return for me. I'm really happy. I come from so far away that I'm actually happy that I was able to play back-to-back three-set matches against top players. That's an important step forward to me."

A dropshot so unexpected, it fooled the cameraman 😎@rogerfederer pic.twitter.com/ycIRZDjrBk

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 11, 2021

Federer added Thursday that his goal is to be ready and in top form at Wimbledon in June.

"I might be better earlier, that would be a bonus and that means I'm at 100 percent before Wimbledon," he told reporters. "I'll just see how much workload the body and the knee still take and what's the best way to prepare all the way for basically the beginning of the season for me, which is the grass court season."

https://twitter.com/TennisPodcast/status/1370068176407511051

He may play the French Open in May as well.

"What comes before the grass courts are the clay courts. So from that standpoint, I have no choice but to play on clay if I want to play matches," he added. "It could be good for me, the clay. It could be bad for me, the clay. So I will only know in practice, but I don't think it's going to be bad, to be honest."

So we may get a full slate of Federer at the remaining Grand Slam events this year. All that's certain at this point is Federer skipping Dubai. 

Novak Djokovic is the No. 1 player in tennis for the 311th week, officially surpassing Roger Federer for the most weeks atop the rankings in ATP Tour history.

"It really excites me to walk the path of legends and giants of this sport," Djokovic said in a statement. "To know that I have earned my place among them by following my childhood dream is a beautiful confirmation that when you do things out of love and passion, everything is possible."

Djokovic's victory at the Australian Open last month ensured he'd pass Federer on the all-time list, and he is currently in his 36th consecutive week at No. 1. Federer and Rafael Nadal are currently tied at 20 for the most Grand Slams in men's tennis singles history, with Djokovic quickly approaching them with 18.

The Serbian has won the last three Australian Opens and won in consecutive years at Wimbledon before the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Barring injury, it feels increasingly inevitable that the 33-year-old will pass Nadal and Federer to become the greatest player in men's tennis history.

Federer turns 40 this year, hasn't won a Slam since 2018 and has been out of tennis since last February after knee surgery. Nadal, who turns 34 this year, is a mortal lock to win the French Open every year but has only seven Slams outside of Roland Garros and has limited success at the Australian Open and Wimbledon (three titles combined).

The Joker's only French Open title came in 2016, but he's brought home five championships at Wimbledon and three at the U.S. Open. He looked like a lock to win last year's U.S. Open before being disqualified for an on-court tantrum during his fourth-round match. 

Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Miami Open scheduled to begin on March 24 as he makes his return from a knee injury.

His agent told the Associated Press Federer will use the extra time to "work his way back out on tour," via ESPN.com.

The 39-year-old has had two operations on his knee since last appearing in a match in February 2020 but is scheduled to return to the court at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha starting next Monday.

His recent post about Doha indicates this return is still on schedule:

The countdown to Doha begins
🦾😃👍#1weektogo pic.twitter.com/EDAgvqp2Md

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 26, 2021

Federer remains an elite player when healthy, currently ranked No. 5 in the world while reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open last year, but he will have to work his way back to form after the extended time away.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner also has until May before the start of Roland Garros as he tries to add another major title to his resume.

Federer has won the Miami Open four times in his career and is the reigning champion after winning in 2019 (it was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

The Masters event still has a star-studded field with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev among those slated to take part in the men's draw.

The 2021 Australian Open will be missing some serious star power.

According to Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press, Roger Federer's agent, Tony Godsick, said the all-time-great tennis player will not play in February's major but plans on returning to action after it concludes.

"Roger has decided not to play the 2021 Australian Open," Godsick said. "He has made strong progress in the last couple of months with his knee and his fitness. However, after consultation with his team, he decided that the best decision for him in the long run is to return to competitive tennis after the Australian Open."

"I will start discussions this coming week for tournaments that begin in late February and then start to build a schedule for the rest of the year," he continued.

This comes after Federer announced in June he would no longer play in 2020 after undergoing surgery on his right knee. He also underwent surgery in February and suffered a setback when trying to return to the court.

Federer played in just one tournament during 2020, and it just so happened to be the Australian Open.

He impressed by making it to the semifinals but ultimately lost to Novak Djokovic.

Knee issues are nothing new for the 39-year-old, who also suffered an injury in 2016 just to return in 2017 and win seven titles. Two of those victories came at Wimbledon and the Australian Open.

It would be quite an impressive feat if he returned and played as well in 2021 as he did in 2017 at this stage of his career, but he is an all-time great with 20 major championships on his resume. If anyone can do so at 39 years old, it is probably him.

Roger Federer said Sunday he's not sure whether he'll be ready to return from a knee injury by the time the 2021 Australian Open starts Feb. 8.

"I would have hoped that I would be at 100 percent by October," Federer said, per Swiss outlet SRF (via ESPN's D'Arcy Maine). "But I still am not [100 percent] today. It will be tight for the Australian Open. I wish I was further along, but at the same time I'm satisfied with where I am at the moment."

The 20-time major champion hasn't played since the 2020 Australian Open in January when he reached the semifinals before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Federer, 39, underwent surgery on his right knee in February and, after an initial timetable that suggested he could return by the summer, he ended up missing the remainder of the year.

He explained Sunday he remains optimistic about the future but admitted there's a chance he won't be able to return to the court, per SRF.

"I stand here tonight with an incredibly good feeling and share that with all of you," Federer said. "I hope that there will be something to see with me next year. If not, then that's an unbelievable end point."

The Australian Open was delayed three weeks because of COVID-19 concerns with players likely having to travel to the country 14 days before the event for quarantine, per ESPN.

If Federer isn't ready to play in the tournament, the next major isn't until the French Open in May. Wimbledon in late June, the Olympics in July and the U.S. Open in late August are the other high-profile events on next year's schedule.

Federer's most recent Grand Slam title came in the 2018 Australian Open.