Federer enjoys early luck of French Open draw

PARIS: Roger Federer won the opening skirmishes of his French Open battle with double defending champion Rafael Nadal on Friday when the world number one was handed the easier of early round draws.

Federer, bidding to win a first ever Roland Garros title and hoping to become only the third man in history to hold all four Grand Slams, will face his first serious test here in the fourth round where former 2003 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero may wait.

He will open his campaign against America's Michael Russell, the world number 71, before facing either a qualifier or Frenchman Thierry Ascione in the second round.

Another qualifier or Potito Starace of Italy will be a third round opponent.

By contrast, Nadal, hoping to follow in the footsteps of Bjorn Borg by winning three French Opens in a row, faces highly-rated Argentinian teenager Juan Martin del Potro in his opener before a second round clash with either a qualifier or Russia's Teimuraz Gabashvili.

Britain's surprise 2004 semi-finalist Tim Henman could be a third round opponent, with 2004 champion Gaston Gaudio or former world number one Lleyton Hewitt, who took a set off the Spaniard in the Hamburg semi-finals last week, possibly waiting to pounce in the fourth round.

Federer comes into the French Open having beaten Nadal for the first time on clay in the Hamburg Masters final last weekend where he recovered from a first set loss to win in three.