Women's tennis' World No 1 Serena Williams will be looking for a bright start to the French Open 2016 as she gets ready to take on Slovakia's Magdalena Rybarikova on Tuesday, Day 3 of the competition. The American tennis superstar has a total of 21 grand slams to her name, and will be keen on equalling Steffi Graf's record of 22 grand slam singles titles with yet another win.
Rybarikova, currently ranked 77 in the world, has meanwhile never gone past the second round at Roland Garros in as many as eight attempts. She is definitely the underdog going into the match, but it must also be recalled that the 27-year-old defeated seventh-ranked Belinda Bencic in the Indian Wells this March.
Serena will however be looking to start her campaign on a high note after being unable to pocket another grand slam title earlier in the calendar year: She was defeated by Angelique Kerber in the final of Australian Open 2016 in January.
The 34-year-old has had a topsy-turvy year so far. After the Australian Open, she lost out in the final of a competition once again as Victoria Azarenka — who Serena could encounter in the quarterfinal of French Open 2016 — defeated her in the Indian Wells in March. Following that, she suffered a loss again in the Miami Open, to Russia's Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round.
Serena's luck finally shone just ahead of Roland Garros 2016 as she clinched the Italian Open title after defeating Madison Keys in the final of the competition earlier this month.
Rybarikova has to work hard on court to at least avoid a straight-set defeat. Serena, who is vying for her fourth French Open title, defeated the Slovakian in their only previous encounter in straight sets at the Rogers Cup in Toronto back in 2013.
Where to watch live
Women's singles: Serena Williams vs Magdalena Rybarikova is the fifth game in order of the day at the Phillipe-Chartier Court. The match could be expected to start at 4:30 p.m. GMT (10 p.m. IST, 12:30 p.m. EST) on May 24.
Viewers in India can catch the action on Neo Sports and Neo Prime.
Viewers in the UK can catch the action on ITV and ITV Player. In Europe, the destinations remain Eurosport and Eurosport Player.
Viewers in the US can catch the action on Tennis Channel, ESPN and NBC. Live streaming destinations include Tennis Channel live, Watch ESPN and NBC Sports Live Extra.
Viewers around Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore can catch the action on Fox Sports Asia.
The radio destination of the event remains Roland Garros Radio.
