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Saville, O'Connell earn French wildcards

Murray WenzelAAP
Australia's Daria Saville has received a wildcard to play in the main draw at the French Open.
Camera IconAustralia's Daria Saville has received a wildcard to play in the main draw at the French Open. Credit: AP

A resurgent Daria Saville has earned a French Open wildcard while Chris O'Connell's clay court form has also seen him handed a main draw appearance.

Former world No.20 Saville has risen almost 500 ranking spots this year, from 627 to 132, in a blazing return from plantar fasciitis and Achilles surgery.

The 28-year-old reached her first WTA 1000-level quarter-final in Miami, the last 16 at Indian Wells and holds an impressive 14-8 win-loss record in 2022.

"It's (Roland Garros) one of my favourite tournaments; I did really well when I was a junior here (making the 2009 girls' singles final), so I have a lot of memories," a thankful Saville said.

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"I trained at Mouratoglou Academy a few years ago, so I feel like France is pretty close to my heart. It was my home for a few years, so I'm really excited to be playing here.

"I love being in Europe, I love the clay. I really enjoy being back on the tour, I've missed it so much."

The Game AFL 2024

O'Connell is now ranked 125 in the world after winning an ATP Challenger on clay in Split, Croatia in April and reaching the third round of the Australian Open, where he scored a straight-sets win over world No.13 Diego Schwartzman in the second round.

The pair are among 10 Australians set to play first-round matches in Paris from Sunday week, while a further 12 will attempt to qualify from Monday.

With Ash Barty's shock retirement, Ajla Tomljanovic (41) is Australia's top-ranked player, while Astra Sharma (147) is the only other female confirmed in the main draw.

Nick Kyrgios had rare success on clay in Houston earlier this year but will miss a fifth-straight French Open and instead relaunch for the grass swing ahead of Wimbledon.

World No.22 Alex de Minaur will lead the Australian charge while Thanasi Kokkinakis (88) has also improved his ranking to earn direct entry.

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