The 2015 French Open is right around the corner and the American men and women hope to erase their abysmal performance in 2014.
Last year Taylor Townsend and Sloane Stephens were the only American women to advance past the second round. Townsend lost in the third round and Stephens lost in the round of 16.
On the men’s side John Isner had the top performance last year. He held his seed by winning three matches before being defeated in the round of 16.
The expectations are low for the seven American men in the 2015 draw. Going into the tournament the following six American men were ranked in the top 100 on the ATP tour:
• 16 John Isner
• 37 Jack Sock
• 38 Sam Querrey
• 52 Donald Young
• 56 Steve Johnson
• 73 Tim Smyczek
Frances Tiafoe was not ranked in the top 100.
Isner is seeded 16th. He is a steady performer who usually holds his seed. With good fortune, he will hold his seed this year.
The outlook for the women is slightly brighter, if for no other reason than 17 American women are in the draw. Unfortunately, 13 of them are in the upper half.
The four players in the lower half will be fortunate to get past the second round (Chirico, Gibbs, Davis, and Brengle).
There are three American women seeded. As expected Serena Williams is first. Her sister, Venus, is seeded 15th, and Madison Keys is seeded 16th. The outlook for these seeds follows:
• Venus will play Sloane Stephens in the first round. That is an intriguing match-up.
• Keys has had a solid year; however, she is in a tough bracket. It is unlikely she will hold her seed.
• Because Serena is so dominant it will be hard to cheer against her to win the tournament, especially since she lost in the first round last year. Unfortunately, the upper half of the draw is clearly more loaded with talent than the lower half.
Going into the French Open the following 13 American women were ranked in the top 100:
• 1 Serena Williams
• 15 Venus Williams
• 16 Madison Keys
• 33 Coco Vandeweghe
• 34 Varvara Lepchenko
• 36 Madison Brengle
• 41 Sloane Stephens
• 46 Alison Riske
• 55 Christina McHale
• 64 Lauren Davis
• 80 Shelby Rogers
• 84 Irina Falconi
• 97 Nicole Gibbs
Alexa Glatch, Bethanie Mattek-Sands, Taylor Townsend, and Louisa Chirico were not ranked in the top 100.
Best wishes to the Americans for a strong performance and some upsets at the 2015 French Open.