The second Grand Slam of the year gets underway in Paris today, with world number four Roger Federer, hometown hero Jo-Wilfred Tsonga and India's numero uno singles star Somdev Devvarman commencing their French Open journey on Sunday.
Agnieszka Radwanska will open her campaign against China's Zhang Shuai, while defending champion Serena Williams will play her first match against French wildcard Alize Lim. Eighth-seed Angelique Kerber will be up against Poland's Katarzyna Piter, and Venus Williams will face Swiss star Belinda Bencic in the first round at the Roland Garros.
Devvarman will open his campaign against Ukraine's Aleksander Nedovyesov, who is six positions below the Indian in the ATP rankings. Clay is not Devvarman's favourite surface and last year, he faced a straight-set defeat at the hands of Federer in the second round.
If Somdev manages to get past Nedovyesov, he will face Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych in the second round. Sixth-seed Berdych is set to face Canadian qualifier Peter Polansky in the opening encounter.
Fourth-seed Federer will face Slovakia's Lukas Lacko in the first round. The Swiss maestro was knocked out in the second round at the Rome Masters; the build up event to the French Open. In the pre-tournament press conference, Federer said that this time there are a number of good players who can cause upsets.
"Of course surprises can happen, like in every tournament. There are very many good players with very small differences between them. We have seen some surprises this year already with Stan, for example, in Australia. But in the French you need to play a lot. You get worn out. Some matches are really a trap."
13th seed Tsonga will carry the hopes of the locals and is set to lock horns with countryman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the opening tie. Tsonga will be hoping to regain his lost form soon, after enduring a disappointing start to the clay season by crashing out of the Rome Masters in second round.
Canada's Milos Raonic will come up against 19-year-old Australian prodigy Nick Kyrgios in the Round 1 tie. The eight-seed, known for his big serves, had rattled Novak Djokovic at the Foro Italico before falling against the world number two.
Former Davis Cup player Robert Bettauer feels the Canadian could turn out to be a party pooper in the French Open this time, and his impressive outings against the top players of late will be his advantage.
"That experience was very confidence building but he has other parts of his game now than just the serve," Bettauer said. "I think he's a very dangerous threat (at the French Open) and it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he can win."
Schedule of Play: Men
Somdev Devvarman vs Aleksander Nedovyesov starts at 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT
Milos Raonic vs Nick Kyrgios starts at 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT
Roger Federer vs Lukas Lacko starts at 4:30 pm IST, 11:00 am GMT
Tomas Berdych vs Peter Polansky starts at 4:30 pm IST, 11:00 am GMT
Jo-Wilfred Tsonga vs Edouard Roger-Vasselin starts at 9:30 pm IST, 4:00 pm GMT
Schedule of Play: Women
Agnieszka Radwanska vs Zhang Shuai starts at 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT
Venus Williams vs Belinda Bencic starts at 5:30 pm IST, 12:00 pm GMT
Serena Williams vs Lim starts at 7:30 pm IST, 2:00 pm GMT
Angelique Kerber vs Katarzyna Piter starts at 10:30 pm IST, 5:00 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.
