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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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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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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Serena Williams has pounded her chief rivals in consecutive tournaments, making her the heavy favorite at the French. (Alessandra Tarantino/AP)

ROME — Serena Williams solidified her status as the overwhelming favorite for the French Open by defeating Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-3 in the final of the Italian Open on Sunday. Williams extended her winning streak to a career-high 24 and capped a dominant week in which she didn’t drop a set, lost no more than four games in any of her five matches and dished out three 6-0 sets en route to her 51st career title and fourth in a row.

Williams hit winners on 41 of the 74 points she won Sunday and committed 19 unforced errors in a remarkable offensive display against the world No. 3. The 31-year-old American won the title here for the first time since 2002, the same year she won her first and only French Only title. That’s a pretty good omen.

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Andy Murray will be the No. 3 seed at Roland Garros if he plays. (Tiziana Fabi/AFP/Getty Images)

ROME — British media are reporting that Andy Murray has undergone a back scan in London and will make a decision on whether he will play the French Open on Wednesday, two days before the draw is to be made.

After undergoing scan in London, Andy Murray just announced he's resting & will make French Open decision on Wednesday.—
Barry Flatman (@Barry_FlatmanST) May 18, 2013

Andy Murray talking to specialists, French Open decision around Weds – sounds like nothing immediately conclusive with his scan.—
Mike Dickson (@Mike_Dickson_DM) May 18, 2013

That’s a slight step down from Murray’s ominous comments earlier in the week after he retired from his opening-round match in Rome with a back injury.

Murray, who made the French Open semifinals in 2011, revealed he had been struggling with the injury since the end of 2011 and reaggravated it on the clay, saying he would be “surprised” if he was able to get fit enough to play the French Open.

If the back scan revealed a more serious injury, it stands to reason that he would have announced his withdrawal sooner.

John Tomic has been banned from the ATP while under investigation. (Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

The New York Times reports that John Tomic will not be granted accreditation to this year’s French Open.

The ATP announced on Tuesday that it has suspended Tomic’s credentials at all tournaments while it completes its investigation into his alleged assault on his son Bernard’s hitting partner, Thomas Drouet, in Madrid. The elder Tomic has been charged with assault and is due to appear in court next Tuesday. If found guilty, Tomic could be sentenced to a fine and and up to three years in prison.

The ITF also confirmed that it has suspended Tomic’s tournament credentials until the ATP completes its investigation. The ITF’s decision prevents Tomic from receiving credentials for any junior tournament in which his 15-year-old daughter, Sara, may compete.

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Roger Federer debuted a new kit in his first match since mid-March on Tuesday. (Andres Kudacki/AP)

The French Open won’t be bumping Rafael Nadal’s seed. Roger Federer doesn’t necessarily agree with that, but he’s happy the decision was set three weeks ahead of Roland Garros.

“We all know he would deserve it,” said Federer, who beat Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 to make the third round in Madrid on Tuesday. “I mean, he’s been so successful there in the last eight, nine years that everybody knows that he deserves it.”

Federer wins first match since March in new kit

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Rafael Nadal could enter the French Open as the fifth seed despite winning the tournament seven times. (Getty Images)

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, French Open officials actually considered reseeding seven-time champion Rafael Nadal.

They thought about making him the tournament’s top seed “as a token of appreciation” but have instead opted not to.

The tournament will stick to its traditional system of seeding players according to the ATP rankings as they sit on the Monday before the tournament, May 20.

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