Australian tennis great Lleyton Hewitt says both John Millman and seeded Alex De Minaur are in for a tough French Open.
The rescheduled clay court event gets underway on Sunday night (AEST), after it was pushed back by four months due to COVID-19.
World number one Ash Barty won’t be in Paris to defend her title after she opted not to travel to Europe over concerns about current travel restrictions.
There are still several Australians in the singles draw and Hewitt said both Millman and De Minaur faced early tests at the event.
“John Millman has got a really tough draw in the French Open,” Hewitt said on SEN SA Breakfast.
“He’s playing (Spain’s) Pablo Carreno Busta who’s just come off a semi final at the US Open but I’m telling you right now, John will put up a hell of a fight and it will be a grind from the back of the court for those two guys.
“Alex (De Minaur) plays a qualifier in the first round and he’s seeded 25th, in his section of the draw is Alexander Zverev who served for the final of the US Open in pretty extraordinary circumstances at the end of that match so he could potentially play him in the third round.
“De Minaur has actually grown up (on clay) but the game style doesn’t suit him as much as hard court or grass because he likes to take the ball as early as possible and really tries to attack players and take time away from opponents.
“He normally needs a few matches (on clay) and he’s only had one tournament beforehand so hopefully he can find a way to get through those first couple of rounds and he’ll get better with every match he plays.
Unlike Millman and De Minaur, who played at the US Open last month, Nick Kyrgios hasn’t played on the ATP tour since February after opting to stay in Australia during the pandemic.
Hewitt said he remains in constant contact with the 25-year-old in the lead up to next year’s Australian Open.
“I’ve spoken to Nick a lot of times over the break,” he said.
“It’s a tough one for him because I don’t think the US Open with no crowds would’ve been ideal for him and he obviously has him reasons for not going and playing.
“For him, the French Open playing on clay with very limited preparation, it was probably the right decision (to miss) but he’s just got to make sure from now until January he’s putting in the hard work and getting as many practise sets in as possible just so his body is match toughened before he goes out to play the Australian Open.
“Even though there hasn’t been that many tournaments, (tennis officials) have tried to cram a lot together at the back end of the year and a lot of his other opponents are going to be playing those matches leading into the Australian Open.”