Sunday 22 May 2016 18:48, UK
Nick Kyrgios, Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, Simona Halep and Heather Watson are all in action on day one of the French Open at Roland Garros on Sunday.
Japanese ace Nishikori is the leading male player in action as the second Grand Slam of the year gets underway and the fifth seed will have to be at his best to see off experienced Italian Simone Bolelli.
Bolelli may be regarded more as a doubles specialist these days, indeed he won the Australian Open in 2015 with Fabio Fognini, but he has twice taken Nishikori to five sets and is at home on the clay courts.
Nishikori, however, pushed Novak Djokovic to the limit in their Rome semi-final last week and has two semi-finals and a final under his belt on the European clay-court swing this season
Kyrgios, who has shown a new-found sense of maturity to claim his first ATP title this season, and a Masters-best semi-final run at the Miami Open, is up against Italy's Marco Cecchinato.
And home fans will have plenty to look forward to with Jeremy Chardy, seeded 30th, in action against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina and the enigmatic Benoit Paire taking on Radu Albot of Moldova.
Fourth seed Garbine Muguruza heads the list of women in action on the opening day. She should have little trouble against Slovakia's Anna Schmiedlova while sixth seed Halep takes on Japan's Nao Hibino.
Petra Kvitova will start the day on Philippe-Chartrier, the 10th seed takes on Danko Kovinic, and Sloane Stephens meets Russia's Maragarita Gasparyan.
John Isner v John Millman is likely to be a contender and in-form Jack Sock will not be underestimating Dutchman Robin Haase, but in the men's event we are going for Milos Raonic against Janko Tipsarevic.
Raonic was beaten by Kyrgios in Rome but has performed well at most of the season's big events, adding an Indian Wells final to his appearance in the last four at the Australian Open.
Sky Sports' Leif Shiras has tipped the big-serving Canadian as the next new winner of a Grand Slam, and in Tipsarevic he has an ideal opening opponent.
The Serb has been around long enough to provide a tough test but Raonic has won all four meetings and has the class to come through.
Svetlana Kuznetsova is a two-time Grand Slam champion, winning at Roland Garros in 2009, but the 13th seed has a tough test against Yaroslava Shvedova, whose best singles performances have come in Paris, twice reaching the quarter-finals.
Those seeking something entertaining on the outside courts should look out for Germany's Dustin Brown, a past Wimbledon conqueror of Rafael Nadal, who takes on Israel's Dudi Sela on Court No 11 in what should make for a crowd-pleasing clash.
Upsets are difficult to predict in the opening round in Paris, mainly because of clay's capacity to throw up many a surprise, but should he find the form we know he is capable of, Grigor Dimitrov could prove too strong for Viktor Troicki.
Dimitrov's standards have dropped over the last couple of years and he has bounced around coaches, but a liking for the big events could see him cause a stir at Roland Garros and he can start by seeing off 22nd seed Troicki.
They've already met twice this year and it's one win apiece.
In the women's event both Madison Brengle and Elena Vesnina are unseeded but American Brengle could well overcome the 20-place difference in the rankings and see off the Russian, whose focus is likely to be on a second women's doubles title in Paris.
Two Brits are in action and, whisper it, there are a couple of decent chances for victory - Kyle Edmund takes on Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili out on Court No 6 and on Court No 3 Heather Watson takes on American Nicole Gibbs.
Edmund is ranked at No 84 in the world and comes into the tournament after claiming the Challenger title in Rome, his second title of the year at that level.
The 21-year-old has also racked up wins against Martin Klizan, Radek Stepanek, Jiri Vesely and Lukas Rosol this season and will fancy his chances of seeing off world No 105 Basilashvili, whose main tournament action this year has been on the Challenger circuit.
Watson takes on on Gibbs, who at 72 is ranked some 18 places below the British No 2, who made a decent run to the last 32 in Rome last week.
With the top men's seeds not in action on day one, they are still likely to attract many of the headlines with Amelie Mauresmo confirming her partnership with Andy Murray ended, at least in part, because of his on-court behaviour.
