Somdev, Sania face uphill task in first round of French Open

Paris: India`s Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza have been handed out a tough draw in their respective singles category at the French Open, starting on Sunday.

Somdev Devvarman is set to face Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, while Sania Mirza has been drawn against Kristina Barrois of Germany at Roland Garros. Ranked 66, Somdev will face an uphill task against World No. 36 Ljubicic, who reached the semifinals of the French Open in 2006 for his career best Grand Slam performance and made it to the third round here last year.Somdev has never played the former World No. 3 Ljubicic before but he can take heart from the fact that has been in good form this season, having made it to the pre-quarterfinals at Indian Wells, where he lost to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. This would only be the second appearance in the Roland Garros main draw for the 26-year-old Indian. World No 74 Sania is also not expected to have an easy outing against Barrois, ranked 59, who had reached the final of the Estoril Open in April.In her four appearances in French Open, Sania have cleared the second round only once in 2007. PTI