Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge believes Alex de Minaur can make his way deep into the second week of the French Open, which starts in Paris on Sunday night AEST.
Seeded 11th, de Minaur, 25, has never progressed beyond the second round at Roland Garros – but will fancy his chances against American teenager Alex Michelsen in the first round.
With world number one Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal – the ‘king of clay’ under an injury cloud, Woodbridge holds the view we may see a new Grand Slam champion in 2024.
Spanish star Nadal has won the tournament an incredible 14 times in his decorated career.
The unseeded veteran, 37, faces fourth seed Alexander Zverev in a tough first round match.
Australian tennis great Todd Woodbridge believes Alex de Minaur can make his way deep into the second week at Roland Garros
The Aussie is seeded 11th at the French Open – but has never previously reached the third round
‘Never in men’s tennis over the last 15 or 20 years has this tournament been so wide open, Woodbridge told The Age.
‘If you look at it in that sense, if you get the right draw, Alex can do well.
‘We’ve had the likes of Pat Rafter reach a semi before on the men’s side, so it can be done, but you need a bit of luck.
‘It’s not Alex’s favourite [surface], but his mindset is as good as anybody.’
Other Aussies tipped to progress to at least the second round include Chris O’Connell and Max Purcell, who have both drawn qualifiers.
Elsewhere, Alexei Popyrin takes on fellow Aussie Thanasi Kokkinakis, while Daria Saville and wildcard recipient Ajla Tomljanovic will fly the flag in the women’s singles.
The total prizemoney at the French Open has increased to almost $90million, with the men’s and women’s singles champions to each receive a whopping $3.93million.
