Scot Andy Murray will open his French Open campaign against Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev, while Spaniard David Ferrer will face Dutch Igor Sijsling in the first round at Roland Garros.
The first round encounter is going to be a litmus test for the Wimbledon champion, as Golubev is one of the toughest guys on the ATP circuit. The Kazakh had recently outclassed the Australian Open champ Stanislas Wawrinka in the Davis Cup.
Murray has had a good clay court season so far and he nearly outplayed defending champion Rafael Nadal in the Rome Masters. Although the Brit couldn't quite finish the job against the "King of Clay", it was enough to give him much-needed confidence heading into the year's second Grand slam.
"Rome was a good step forward," said Murray. "I need to build on that, take confidence from it, and I need to try to keep that consistency for the next four or five months if I can. I've obviously got a big focus on these next couple of weeks, and hopefully I can have a good run."
Murray, who is aiming to win his first French Open crown, is aware that it not going to be an easy day out in the first round. The US Open champion said Golubev is a dangerous player, who is capable of turning the tide against top players.
"He beat Wawrinka in the Davis Cup this year," Murray said. "He's a very dangerous player, big forehand, goes for his shots. He doesn't hold back. When he's on, he's a very tough guy to beat."
The fifth-seeded Spaniard Ferrer will open his campaign at Roland Garros against Netherland's Sijsling. The Spaniard will be hoping to repeat last year's feat when he reached the final of the French Open.
Ferrer will face less difficulties in getting past Sijsling, who is 55th in the ATP rankings. However, he is not heading with a great record on clay this season, as in the Rome Masters he lost in the quarterfinals to Novak Djokovic.
The 2013 finalist is in the same half of the draw as defending champion Nadal, who defeated him in straight sets in the final last year. However, the Spaniard has improved his record against his fellow countryman by defeating him in the Monte Carlo quarterfinals.
The 23rd-seeded Gael Monfils will carry home hopes against Victor Hanescu in the first round, while 12th seed Richard Gasquet will play his first round match against Australia's Bernard Tomic. Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov will play Croatia's Ivo Karlovic and Spaniard Fernando Verdasco will also be in action against Michael Llodra.
Schedule of Play: Men
Grigor Dimitrov vs Ivo Karlovic starts at 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT
Richard Gasquet vs Bernard Tomic starts at 4:30 pm IST, 11:00 am GMT
David Ferrer vs Igor Sijsling starts at 4:30 pm IST, 11:00 am GMT
Andy Murray vs Andrey Golubev starts at 7:30 pm IST, 2:00 pm GMT
Fernando Verdasco vs Michael Llorda starts at 7:30 pm IST, 2:00 pm GMT
Where to Watch Live
The day's action is scheduled for 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT and 5:00 am ET start, with live coverage on NBC Sports and ESPN 2 in the US and NEO Prime and NEO Sports in India. The matches can be watched via live streaming option in the US HERE or HERE. The matches can be live streamed by international viewers HERE.
