Querrey, Gibbs face tough draws in French Open

Sam Querrey, a San Francisco native, will face teenage
sensation Borna Coric of Croatia in the first round.
2014 photo by Paul Bauman

   Friday's French Open draw did Sam Querrey and Nicole Gibbs no favors.
   It was kinder to Jarmila Gajdosova, but she has health issues.
   The year's second Grand Slam tournament begins Sunday in Paris (2 a.m. PDT on ESPN2 and 10 a.m. on NBC).
   Querrey, a San Francisco native and former Sacramento Capital in World TeamTennis, is scheduled to play teenage sensation Borna Coric of Croatia in the first round.
   Gibbs, a former Stanford star, will face Alexandra Dulgheru of Romania, and Australia's Gajdosova of the Sacramento-based California Dream in WTT will meet French wild card Amandine Hesse.
   All are first-time matchups.
   At No. 53, the 18-year-old Coric is the top-ranked male teenager in the world and the second-youngest player in the top 100 behind No. 85 Alexander Zverev, an 18-year-old German.
   Coric, who will debut in the clay-court French Open, already owns victories over Rafael Nadal (indoors) and Andy Murray (outdoor hardcourt).
   The 27-year-old Querrey, ranked 38th, is only 4-8 in eight French Open appearances. His best result was the third round in 2013.
   The winner likely will play 18th-seeded Tommy Robredo, a 33-year-old Spaniard and five-time quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, in the second round.

Nicole Gibbs, a former Stanford star, will take on Alexandra
Dulgheru of Romania.

   Dulgheru, ranked 50th, reached the quarterfinals of the Italian Open this month as a qualifier. She knocked off 14th-ranked Lucie Safarova in the second round and No. 8 Ekaterina Makarova in the third round before falling to No. 2 and countrywoman Simona Halep.
   Gibbs, ranked 97th, will make her French Open debut. The two-time NCAA singles champion, 22, prefers hardcourts.
   Hesse is ranked only No. 261 but will have the crowd behind her. Gajdosova, who reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros in 2010, withdrew from Stasbourg last week with a shoulder injury and undisclosed illness.
   Meanwhile, only one of the 16 male and 12 female French Open qualifiers is American. Alexa Glatch will take on Anna-Lena Friedsam of Germany in the first round, with the winner likely to play top-ranked Serena Williams.
   Americans Jared Donaldson, 18, and Jessica Pegula, 21, lost in the final round of qualifying.