There’s “The Big Four” and then there’s this Big Four. Nike assembled their four biggest stars — Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Roger Federer — to reveal their 2013 French Open kits and play an exhibition match on a black-lit court in Malakoff, a Paris suburb.

“We don’t have too many opportunities for all of us to be together to do something fun,” Williams said.

French Open: Men’s Seed Report | Women’s Seed Report | Burning Questions | Draw Analysis

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Serena Williams is looking to win her second French Open and first since 2002. (Daniel Ochoa de Olza/AP)

The French Open draws were released on Friday, and the big news came on the men’s side. No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Rafael Nadal were put into the same half, meaning they will not meet in a second straight Paris final. You can view the men’s draw here and the women’s draw here. Looking at the brackets, here are five winners and five losers as we head into the first round, which begins Sunday.

French Open Preview: Men’s Seed Report | Women’s Seed Report | Burning Questions

Winners

Serena Williams (No. 1 seed): As Serena told me in Rome last week, her most difficult opponent in Paris is the lady in the mirror. Besides that lady, no one who could possibly pose a threat is in Williams’ half of the draw. Maria Sharapova, Victoria Azarenka, Li Na, Sam Stosur, Jelena Jankovic and Petra Kvitova landed in Sharapova’s half. No. 4 Agnieszka Radwanska is the other top seed in Williams’ half, and she’s struggled mightily through the clay season, as has 10th-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, who hasn’t won a match on red clay all year. Last year’s finalist, No 5 Sara Errani, is a crafty clay-courter, but Williams had no problems with her in Madrid, beating the Italian 7-5, 6-2.

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The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.

• Video: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova did an exhibition event in Paris on Thursday. Here’s behind-the-scenes video. Gotta love Federer’s inability to keep a straight face during the photoshoot. “Am I the only guy smiling?”

• Christopher Clarey catches up with Virginie Razzano, the Frenchwoman who beat Serena Williams in the first round of the French Open last year.

WERTHEIM: French Open women’s seed report

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(Twitter)

It happened. Roger Federer, one of the last high-profile holdouts in tennis, has finally given in and joined Twitter.

A little (blue) bird told me that the place to be is @twitter, so here I am! http://t.co/8AQzBsC6ia—
Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) May 23, 2013

The first four Twitter accounts he followed? All four Slams, of course. I guess he just really loves all those behind-the-scenes photos.

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Serena Williams is aiming for her first French Open title since 2002. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Five questions to ponder as the French Open approaches …

1. Can Serena Williams shake her demons? She’s the favorite. There’s no way around it. She can try to downplay her chances all she wants, say her goal is just to do better than last year (which means simply winning one match) and dismiss the notion that she feels any pressure to win the French Open for the first time since 2002. She can do all that, and it still doesn’t erase the fact that she’s the No. 1 player in the world and riding a four-title, career-best 24-match winning streak that includes convincing victories against her two primary “rivals,” defending champion Maria Sharapova and Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.

Williams says she’s more focused this year, given her stunning loss to Virginie Razzano in 2012, Serena’s first defeat in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament. I believe her, having watched her and spoken to her during title runs in both Charleston, S.C., and Rome. She’s not taking anything lightly, especially the early rounds of the tournament, which is where she’s struggled. The fact that Williams hasn’t made it past the quarterfinals of Roland Garros since 2003 is a pretty amazing stat, though it should be noted that she missed the tournament in 2005, 2006 and 2011. But she’s peaking at the right time, thumping the field at the Italian Open by losing no more than four games to any opponent. If she plays as well as she’s capable of, then it’s her title to lose.

Stephens: Serena plays mind games

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Sloane Stephens has lost in her opening round in four of seven events since the Australian Open. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

It seems Sloane Stephens can’t stop getting asked about Serena Williams, which means she can’t stop talking about Serena Williams.

In a story in this week’s issue of TIME magazine called Serena’s Heir: Sloane Stephens might be America’s next great tennis star, Stephens said Williams plays mind games to try to intimidate her opponents. Stephens referenced their first career meeting, in the Brisbane International quarterfinals in January, when Williams was demonstrably loud with her “come ons” and fist pumps. Stephens told TIME in late February that it’s all part of Williams’ intimidation strategy.

Stephens thought her Williams comments to ESPN were off the record

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The top players have made their way to Paris, and defending champions Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, as well as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka have been spotted practicing on site. Fresh off his title run at the Italian Open, where he beat Federer in straight sets on Sunday, Nadal took his first steps on the red clay of Roland Garros in Thursday, strolling onto court while finishing a snack as his uncle Toni looked on.

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(Roger Federer’s Facebook)

Players have been greeted with frigid temperatures and in some instances, hail, in Paris. Roger Federer and his coach, Paul Annacone, posted pictures of hail on the courts of Roland Garros, with Federer writing, “Had to stop practice for a few minutes….what the hail is going on here……”

Venus Williams also had to bundle up for the cold temperatures, which have ranged from the low 40s at night to the 50s during the day. “It’s like winter here!” she wrote.

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The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.

• Video: Rafael Nadal eats a bowlful of his favorite Quely cookies, and it’s oddly mesmerizing.

• An update on what tennis at the 2016 Olympics will look like.

JENKINS: Federer-Nadal rivalry on its last legs

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The Daily Bagel is your dose of the interesting reporting, writing and quipping from around the Internet.

• Video: Check out Serena Williams’ champagne celebration in Rome.

• Rafael Nadal says he never expected this kind of success — six titles in eight tournaments this year — after a seven-month layoff. Peter Bodo begs to differ.

He’s got this streak of humility that is beginning to look nothing less than bizarre, and it looks as though he’s going to cling to it no matter what the record books or scoreboards say. Who else would have reacted the way he did after Nadal won his sixth title of year and his back-to-back Masters in Rome?

…

Seriously — was anyone surprised that Nadal, who has been virtually unbeatable on clay throughout his career, returned to the tour this winter after his eight-month layoff and picked up right where he left off? Nadal also added: “To win three Master 1000s and two ATP 500 tournaments is more than I ever dreamed.”

Oh, please. Enough with the drama and humble protestations. Rafa is starting to sound like that gazillionaire who pleads abject poverty even as he’s adding a few million to his bank account with a 10-minute stock trade. I’m not going to question Nadal’s sincerity, but there’s something patently cuckoo about this degree of humility when it comes to his performance and record on clay.

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