French Open 2017 seed reports

Breaking down the French Open 2017 draw, including top first-round matchups on the schedule, predictions and more.

Jon Wertheim | May 26, 2017

French Open 2017 seed reports /

I don't practice Santeria, I ain't got no crystal ball. Nevertheless, we can try to handicap the field at the 2017 French Open. The men’s draw is the equivalent Warriors/Cavs, two unstoppable forces a path, inexorably it would seem, to collide. Put another way: if a player other Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic wins the title, it would mark a considerable upset.

With Sharapova in exile (a great band name, by the way), Serena out with a belly bump and both the defending champ and top seed struggling, the field is akin to the 2016 GOP field—more than a dozen contenders and a high probability of a surprise winner. The real winner? The tennis fan. You get ritual excellence. You also get also the unpredictability and the unscripted anything-can-happen spontaneity of sport. Another reasons this sport will survive—thrive even—in spite of itself.

Read on for the dark horses, top first-round matchups, predictions and more as we breakdown the men's and women's seeds at the 2017 French Open.

Published May 26, 2017

JON WERTHEIM

Jon Wertheim is a senior writer for Sports Illustrated and has been part of the full-time SI writing staff since 1997, largely focusing on the tennis beat , sports business and social issues, and enterprise journalism. In addition to his work at SI, he is a correspondent for "60 Minutes" and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He has authored 11 books and has been honored with two Emmys, numerous writing and investigative journalism awards, and the Eugene Scott Award from the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Wertheim is a longtime member of the New York Bar Association (retired), the International Tennis Writers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He has a bachelor's in history from Yale University and received a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in New York City with his wife, who is a divorce mediator and adjunct law professor. They have two children.