Andy Murray lands remarkable French Open draw as familiar opponent and potential Cameron Norrie clash await

The Scot will face Wawrinka yet again in first round at Roland Garros

Andy Murray will face an all-too-familiar opponent in the first round of this year’s French Open after he was paired with former champion and fellow veteran Stan Wawrinka.

In what will be the 23rd main tour meeting between the two players, 37-year-old Murray – currently ranked 75 in the world – will take on the Swiss, 39, who currently sits 97th in the world. Wawrinka won the title at Roland Garros in 2015 and was a runner-up in 2017 and the tie is a repeat of their 2020 first-round battle, which was won convincingly by Wawrinka in straight sets. Murray has only defeated Wawrinka once on clay but it came at Roland Garros, with the Scot defeating him in the 2016 semi-finals.

Remarkably, this will be the third time in a row that Murray plays Wawrinka at Roland Garros. Wawrinka 2017 win was the was the start of Murray’s hip problems, and the Scot’s only match in Paris since was that one-sided loss to the veteran Swiss four years ago. Murray returned from nearly two months out with an ankle injury last week but has won only one match on clay this season, and that came at last week’s Bordeaux Challenger when Kyrian Jacquet had to stop due to injury.

Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka will meet for a third time at the French Open.

With retirement imminent for Murray, this is likely to be his last appearance at the French Open. Should he overcome Wawrinka, he could face fellow Brit Cameron Norrie in the second round. Norrie, who is seeded 32nd for the event, takes on Russian Pavel Kotov in his opening match. Dan Evans has his work cut out against 13th seed Holger Rune, while Jack Draper plays a qualifier or lucky loser but has Carlos Alcaraz looming in the second round.

Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Rafael Nadal’s French Open swansong will begin with a blockbuster clash against Alexander Zverev. Nadal is set to play at the tournament he has won on a record 14 occasions for the final time, and he has his work cut out if he is to make it beyond the opening round.

Zverev climbed to world number four on the back of winning the Italian Open in Rome at the weekend and heads into the year’s second grand slam as one of the favourites. Nadal won the title on his last appearance on the Parisian clay in 2022 but has played only four tournaments in the last year and a half because of hip problems and was well beaten by Hubert Hurkacz in the second round in Rome.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic will play French wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert. World number one Djokovic, 37, who defeated Casper Ruud in straight sets in last year’s final, will be bidding for a record-breaking 25th grand slam title but has struggled for form this year. Men’s world number two Jannik Sinner will play American Christopher Eubanks providing he has recovered sufficiently from a hip injury while two-time grand slam winner Alcaraz, who is also short on matches because of a forearm problem, faces a qualifier or lucky loser.

British women’s number one Katie Boulter, seeded for the first time at a grand slam at number 26, faces a tough opener against former top-10 star Paula Badosa, while Harriet Dart has also been handed a difficult draw against 27th seed Linda Noskova. Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek will launch the defence of her title against a qualifier or lucky loser and could play four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka in the second round.