Djokovic to open in Paris against Starace
PARIS, May 25 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Rafael Nadal will take on Italian players in the first round of the French Open.
The top-seeded Djokovic's foe will be Potito Starace and Nadal will go against Simone Bolleli.
Neither Italian has won an ATP singles title.
The draws were announced Friday, two days before the start of the season's second Grand Slam event.
Potential opponents on Djokovic's side of the draw include third-ranked Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is world No. 5.
Stars in Nadal's half the draw include No. 4 Andy Murray and No. 6 David Ferrer.
A win for Djokovic would give him his first French Open title and his fourth straight Grand Slam championship. The other three were Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open, this year's first major.
Federer, who has won 16 Grand Slam tournaments, including the 2009 French Open, will begin the tournament against Germany's Tobias Kamke.
Murray drew Tatsuma Ito of Japan in the first round.
Azarenka to play Brianti in French opener
PARIS, May 25 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Victoria Azarenka, this year's Australian Open champion, will play Italian Alberta Brianti in the opening round of the French Open.
A potential quarterfinal match in the Open could feature longtime stars Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.
The tournament begins Sunday in Paris.
Azarenka has U.S. Open winner Samantha Stosur in her half of the draw, which was announced Friday.
The two other reigning Grand Slam winners on the women's tour, defending French champion Li Na and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova, are on the other side of the draw in Paris.
Sharapova is seeded second, Agnieszka Radwanska third, Kvitova fourth, Williams fifth, Stosur sixth and Li seventh.
If they keep winning, perennial headliners Sharapova and Williams -- in the Li-Kvitova half of the draw -- could meet in a quarterfinal duel.
Sharapova needs only a French Open crown to complete a career Grand Slam.
Williams, a 13-time major winner, goes into the clay-court French event with a 17-0 record on clay this season. She withdrew from a tournament iin Rome last week, citing a back problem.
Franchitti, Dixon have top practice runs
INDIANAPOLIS, May 25 (UPI) -- Former winners Dario Franchitti and Scott Dixon turned in the fastest laps Friday in the final practice session for the Indianapolis 500.
Franchitti was clocked at 222.360 and Dixon at 222.274.
The race will be Sunday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the forecast calls for temperatures in the 90s.
"It was slippery out there today, more so than all month," two-time Indy 500 winner Franchitti said after 42 practice laps around the 1.5-mile track.
He won the race in 2007 and 2010.
"We didn't make a whole lot of changes and the car felt pretty strong," said Dixon, the 2008 winner.
Franchitti and Dixon will start in the middle of the 33-car field.
The pole position was won last week by Ryan Briscoe, who had the fifth fastest practice run after Franchitti, Dixon, Marco Andretti and Takuma Sato.
Three-time Indy 500 winner Helio Castroneves had the 11th fastest practice time.
Castroneves won in 2001, 2002 and 2009. Another victory would tie him with A.J. Foyt, Rick Mears and Al Unser for the most Indy 500 wins.
Berkman has surgery; out 8-10 weeks
HOUSTON, May 25 (UPI) -- The St. Louis Cardinals said first baseman Lance Berkman had knee surgery Friday in Houston and will need up to 10 weeks to recover.
The Cardinals released a statement saying arthroscopy on Berkman's right knee "found a partial tear in the medial meniscus, which was removed, and a ... cartilage tear, which was debrided."
Doctors did not find any damage to the anterior cruciate ligament, which Berkman had earlier said he feared would keep him sidelined for the rest of the season, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The team said Berkman's recovery and rehabilitation is expected to take eight to 10 weeks.
