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Tennis fans will have to wait a bit longer to see Rafael Nadal open his bid for a record 11th title at Roland Garros as the first day of the French Open 2018 does not feature the Spaniard. Instead, the in-form Alexander Zverev, who is seeded second, will be the highest seed in action in the men’s singles draw.
The 21-year-old German is the ATP Tour leader in terms of match wins, having posted 30 victories already in the 2018 season. He has come to Paris on the back of winning claycourt titles in Munich and Madrid, besides reaching the final in Rome.
The World No. 3, currently No. 1 in the race to the ATP Finals 2018, starts off his campaign against Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
On Court Philippe Chatrier, play will be opened by the fourth seeded Grigor Dimitrov, who takes on veteran Viktor Troicki in a blockbuster first round encounter. The ATP Finals champion leads their head-to-head record 3-2 and would have his hands full against the Serb.
Besides Zverev and Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori and David Goffin are another two big names to feature on Sunday. Both of them will be in action on Court 1.
Nishikori has made a successful return to the circuit following a wrist injury. The 2017 Roland Garros quarter-finalist beat Zverev and Marin Cilic on his way to the final of the Monte Carlo Masters this year. The former US Open runner-up will be up against local hope Maxime Janvier.
The eighth seeded Goffin concludes play on Court 1 on the first day. The Belgian, who made it to the final of the ATP Finals last November, has a tricky opponent in the form of experienced campaigner Robin Haase.
Ostapenko begins title defence
On the women’s side, the biggest star to watch will be the defending champion Jelena Ostapenko. The 20-year-old, a surprise champion in Paris last year, has made the quarter-finals at Stuttgart and Rome this season. Despite all the pressure, the young Latvian will be looking to build on that form when she meets Kateryna Kozlova, a player who has beaten Ostapenko in their only previous showdown.
Ninth seed and former runner-up Venus Williams also features in the schedule. The 37-year-old faces Qiang Wang of China on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Another veteran playing her first round is former champion Francesca Schiavone, who is a qualifier this time. The Italian, also 37, will be making her 19th main draw appearance when she locks horns with Slovakia’s Viktoria Kuzmova on Court 3.
Here is the Day 1 schedule on the three main courts:
Court Philippe-Chatrier
Play starts at 11am local time/2.30pm IST
Viktor TROICKI (SRB) vs Grigor DIMITROV (BUL) [4]
Alizé CORNET (FRA) [32] vs Sara ERRANI (ITA)
Lucas POUILLE (FRA) [15] vs Daniil MEDVEDEV (RUS)
Jelena OSTAPENKO (LAT) [5] vs Kateryna KOZLOVA (UKR)
Court Suzanne-Lenglen
Play starts at 11am local time/2.30pm IST
Ajla TOMLJANOVIC (AUS) vs Elina SVITOLINA (UKR) [4]
Elliot BENCHETRIT (FRA) vs Gael MONFILS (FRA) [32]
Qiang WANG (CHN) vs Venus WILLIAMS (USA) [9]
Ricardas BERANKIS (LTU) vs Alexander ZVEREV (GER) [2]
Court 1
Play starts at 11am local time/2.30pm IST
Kurumi NARA (JPN) vs Barbora STRYCOVA (CZE) [26]
Kei NISHIKORI (JPN) [19] vs Maxime JANVIER (FRA)
Johanna KONTA (GBR) [22] vs Yulia PUTINTSEVA (KAZ)
David GOFFIN (BEL)[8] vs Robin HAASE (NED)
You can find the full schedule here.
