Winners and Losers of the French Open draw

The 2016 French Open has been drawn and quartered, and the resulting bracket has left some rejoicing, while others have to grudgingly accept the short end of the stick.

Before action kicks off at Roland Garros on Sunday, here are the biggest winners and losers of the men's and women's draws:

Men's Draw

Winner: Novak Djokovic

The world No. 1 could not have asked for a breezier path to the semis, as he seeks that elusive first French Open title. The highest-ranked opponent he can face on the way to the final four is No. 7 Tomas Berdych, whose game is in disarray, and who is 2-23 lifetime against Djokovic - including 10 straight losses. The next-highest seed in the quarter is No. 11 David Ferrer, who's also dropped 10 straight to Djokovic.

A prospective semifinal clash with Rafael Nadal presents the biggest hypothetical roadblock to the final, but even then, we're talking about an opponent Djokovic has taken seven straight matches and 15 straight sets off of. And Nadal's far from a shoo-in to make it that far, considering ...

Loser: Rafael Nadal

He caught a break when Roger Federer's withdrawal bumped him up to the No. 4 seed, allowing him to avoid Djokovic until the semis, but a glance at Nadal's loaded quarter suggests that may have been a Pyrrhic victory. In the third round he could see Fabio Fognini, who beat him three times last season - including twice on clay - and has become something of a yardstick for the state of Nadal's game and mind.

His likely reward for wrangling Fognini would be a date with Dominic Thiem, a born clay-courter who plays a heavy topspin game in the vein of Nadal, but with more explosive groundstrokes. Survive Thiem, and he might get to dance with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, a semifinalist at his home major in two of the last three years. If he's still standing after that bloodbath, then he'll get a crack at beating Djokovic for the first time in eight tries. If Nadal somehow wins this French Open, it'll go down as the most impressive of his 10 titles at Roland Garros.

Winner: Milos Raonic

After being forced to withdraw from this tournament last year due to foot surgery, Raonic returns to Roland Garros to find himself in a cushy quarter. Assuming he's as healthy as he says he is (he's dealt with a nagging adductor injury this season, as well as a more recent wrist issue), he's unlikely to be seriously challenged until the Round of 16, when he could see unnatural (if improving) clay-courter Jack Sock, or a slumping Marin Cilic.

The quarter is headlined by defending champ Stan Wawrinka, who, while obviously dangerous, is unlikely to replicate his incendiary title run from last year. Raonic proved in Australia that he can beat Wawrinka in a battle of bludgeoning groundstrokes, and being grouped with him - rather than with any of Djokovic, Nadal, or Andy Murray - gives Raonic the best shot of making his first semifinal in Paris.

Loser: Kei Nishikori

Nishikori has been awesome on clay in the recent past, but his draw will make it tough for him to prove his mettle in Paris. Even his unseeded potential opponents in the first two or three rounds don't look inviting, with the vastly improved Alex Kuznetsov and streaky Fernando Verdasco potentially on tap. After that, he may have to deal with Nick Kyrgios - a human fireball who stretched Nishikori to his limit in Madrid two weeks ago. If he escapes unscathed, Nishikori would likely get the red-hot Murray in the quarters. Rough.

Women's draw

Losers: Serena Williams and Victoria Azarenka

Both women basically lost the draw simply by getting penciled into each other's quarter, and that's to say nothing of the other landmines lurking in said quarter, like Ana Ivanovic, Dominika Cibulkova, Elina Svitolina, Andrea Petkovic, and Timea Babos. The smart money is still on Serena and Azarenka sidestepping those threats to set up a monster quarterfinal clash, but which advances from there is anybody's best guess.

Azarenka has been better this season on balance, and thumped Serena in the Indian Wells final, their only head-to-head match of 2016. But Serena is more comfortable on clay, and just ended her title drought with a torrential performance in Rome, where Azarenka lost her opening match (on the heels of a withdrawal in Madrid due to a back injury). Either way, the loser is going to feel cheated for having had to play the next-best player in the world before the semifinals.

Winner: Garbine Muguruza

The struggling Spaniard got a gift of a draw as she looks to get her season back on track, with very little firepower standing between her and the semis. The next-highest seed in her quarter, amazingly, is Roberta Vinci, whose late-career resurgence hasn't extended to clay courts, who's never gone past the fourth round in Paris, and who's lost her opening match there in three of the past four years. There's Petra Kvitova, who's been a mess, and Karolina Pliskova, who's always been woeful at majors.

Muguruza's toughest challenge may come in the form of former 2009 champ Svetlana Kuznetsova, but the 30-year-old has gone seven straight majors without advancing past Round 2, and doesn't have the agility to keep up with the 22-year-old Muguruza on clay. If Muguruza can stay out of her own way, a deep run is right there for the taking.

Loser: Timea Bacsinszky

Bacsinszky will be hard-pressed to repeat her semifinal showing from a year ago with the draw she's been handed. There are no early-round pushovers in the offing, with either Eugenie Bouchard or Laura Siegemund coming at her in Round 2. If Bacsinszky can stay on her feet until the Round of 16, she's on course to greet one of the following: Venus Williams, Madison Keys, Jelena Jankovic, Johanna Konta, Daria Gavrilova, or Alize Cornet. Then Aussie Open champ Angelique Kerber could be waiting in the quarters. Tough sledding for Timea.

Winner: Simona Halep

Halep made her only Slam final at Roland Garros two years ago, and after a confidence-boosting win in Madrid, the stage is set for her to reprise her 2014 success. If she's playing up to her abilities, she shouldn't get pushed until the quarterfinals. The top seed in her quarter is Aga Radwanska, a mediocre clay-courter who's only made it past the fourth round at Roland Garros once, and who Halep has handled in recent head-to-heads.

Also in the quarter: Sam Stosur, Lucie Safarova, and Sara Errani. They're all former French Open finalists, but all have fallen off hard, due to some combination of injury, illness, inconsistency, mental fragility, and the complete absence of a service game. Halep has a serious opening.