The second Grand Slam of the year, French Open, got underway on a Sunday and featured Roger Federer – making his first appearance at this event in four years – in action. But the second day could turn out to be even bigger with both the top seeds and favourites to win – Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic set to start their campaign.
Where and when to watch
Television viewers can watch the action live from Roland Garros in both standard and high definition. The live coverage would begin at 2:30 PM IST and would be available on Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports Select 2, Star Sports Select 1 HD and Star Sports Select 2 HD. For online viewers, the platform bringing the matches live would be Hotstar at the same timings.
Nadal's match is supposed to begin at 3:45 PM IST on court Phillipe Chatrier and the Djoker will be in action after that. Following this contest, Serena Williams would be in action on the same court.
Matches to watch out for
The most anticipated matches on day 2 of the French Open would, obviously, be those featuring Nadal and Djokovic. The 11-time champion from Spain will start his campaign for the 12th title against Yannick Hanfmann, a qualifier from Germany. The top seed from Serbia would take on Hubert Hurkacz of Poland.
In the women's division, no. 1-seeded Naomi Osaka would begin her campaign against Anna Karolína Schmiedlová of Slovakia. Defending Champion and 3rd-seeded Simona Halep would face-off against Ajla Tomljanović of Australia as well. All eyes would also be focussed on Serena Williams who is one Grand Slam win away from equalling the all-time record of 24 titles, currently held by Margaret Court.
What to look out for
While Djokovic has been given the top-seeding, and the Serbian did come into the tournament with a great run of form, at the Italian Open, he suffered a defeat at the hands of Rafael Nadal in the Final. While first-round matches are not the best indicators of what lies in future, yet a comparison of how comfortable the two men appear at their first showing would be interesting.
While Naomi Osaka is on a great winning spree, having won the last two Grand Slams, she may face a tough competition from the legendary Serena Williams and last year's winner Simona Halep. Also, the younger Williams sister had to withdraw from three tournaments in the lead-up to the event, hence, it would be interesting to see whether there is any ring-rustiness on her part.
