Paris, France, 21 September 2020 | Leigh Rogers

Among the six Australians in the Roland Garros 2020 men’s singles qualifying draw, there are four making their tournament debut.

Christopher O’Connell, Aleksandar Vukic, Andrew Harris and Max Purcell will compete at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

The No.111-ranked O’Connell is the No.3 seed. The 26-year-old from Sydney is at a career-high ranking after making the US Open second round earlier this month. O’Connell has drawn No.185-ranked Swede Elias Ymer in the first round.

Vukic is also currently at a career-high ranking, rising to No.190 last week after strong performances at ATP Challenger level. The 24-year-old from Sydney, who advanced to the final round of Australian Open qualifying earlier this year, faces Spanish teen Carlos Alcaraz in the opening round.

Harris, a 26-year-old from Melbourne ranked No.213, plays France’s Constant Lestienne in the first round. It is his first career meeting against the world No.221. Harris has competed at Roland Garros as a junior, winning the boys’ doubles title in 2012 with Nick Kyrgios. His mother, Anne Minter, also has a proud history at the tournament – making the mixed doubles final in 1984 and singles third round in 1987.

The No.225-ranked Purcell has drawn No.288-ranked French wildcard Manuel Guinard in his opening round match. The 22-year-old from Sydney has been impressing on the doubles court in recent weeks and is looking to qualify for a Grand Slam singles main draw for the second time in his career, having done so earlier this year at the Australian Open.

Marc Polmans and Alex Bolt also feature in the qualifying draw. Polmans, a 23-year-old from Melbourne, is contesting Roland Garros qualifying for the fourth time in his career. Bolt, a 27-year-old from Murray Bridge, is making his fifth appearance.

> Take a look at the French Open qualifying draw

Men’s singles qualifying action begins in Paris tonight, with four Australians on the schedule. Women’s singles qualifying follows from tomorrow, with the draw to be revealed tonight.

ROLAND GARROS
Aussies in action, qualifying day one:

[12] Marc Polmans (AUS) v Tobias Kamke (GER)
Men’s singles qualifying, first round, Court 2, first match (6pm AEST start)
Seeded in a Grand Slam qualifying draw for the first time in his career, the No.122-ranked Polmans has drawn an experienced 34-year-old German. This is Polman’s first meeting with the No.229-ranked Kamke, who boasts a career-high ranking of No.64 and has made six French Open main draw appearances in his career.

Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) v Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
Men’s singles qualifying, first round, Court 10, second match
Vukic faces a 17-year-old Spaniard who has made back-to-back ATP Challenger finals on clay in recent weeks. Those performances have catapulted Alcaraz to a career-high No.186, making him the highest-ranked 17-year-old in the world. Alcaraz is coached by former world No.1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, who won Roland Garros in 2003.

[3] Christopher O’Connell (AUS) v Elias Ymer (SWE)
Men’s singles qualifying, first round, Court 5, third match (not before 9.30pm AEST)
This is not an easy draw for O’Connell. The 24-year-old Ymer has qualified for a Grand Slam main draw six times in his career, including twice at Roland Garros (in 2015 and 2018). The former No.105-ranked Swede also boasts a winning record against O’Connell, scoring a straight-sets win on clay in their only previous meeting at an ITF tournament in 2017.

Alex Bolt (AUS) v Michael Mmoh (USA)
Men’s singles qualifying, first round, Court 4, third match (not before 9.30pm AEST)
The No.149-ranked Bolt has a 0-4 career win-loss record in Roland Garros qualifying. The 27-year-old from South Australia is seeking to snap his losing streak against the No.175-ranked Mmoh. Bolt has played the 22-year-old American twice in his career, splitting results in their 2017 meetings. This is the first time they have played on clay.

> Check out the full French Open order of play