On the opening day of the French Open, the biggest shock was the exit of two-time grand slam champion Angelique Kerber. Today will the focus will be on the stars of the sport with 11-time winner Rafael Nadal, top seed Novak Djokovic and the formidable Serena Williams all taking to the court.
Here are the matches to follow at the French Open on Monday.
Rafael Nadal Vs Yannick Hanfmann
In the history of the French Open, only two men have ever defeated Nadal. Robin Soderling in 2009 and Novak Djokovic in 2015. The king of clay has endured a rocky past few months on the tour, but has still managed to reach the semi-finals of three consecutive clay-court tournaments, before winning the Italian Open. Earning his first title of the season.
Nadal first challenger this year will be Yannick Hanfmann, who achieved a ranking high of 99th in 2018. The German came through the qualifying rounds without dropping a set and won two challenger titles last year. Hanfmann turned professional only four years ago and has had a hearing impairment since birth. Meaning he can only hear 60% of what an average person does.
The clash should be one-way territory for Nadal, who has never lost before the third round at Roland Garros. Hanfmann has the ability to test the Spaniard on the clay, but it will take an epic effort for him to do so over three sets. Providing Nadal if fit and healthy, he should progress to the next round with relative ease.
Johanna Konta Vs Antonia Lottner
Could this be the year Johanna Konta wins a match in Paris? After four consecutive first round losses in the tournament, the British No.1 is quietly confident of ending that streak. 2019 has been Konta’s best season on the clay by a massive margin. Reaching the finals at both Marrakech and Rome. She has already achieved 10 wins on the clay this season, compared to only three victories during 2018.
Qualifier Antonia Lottner will be hoping to spoil Konta’s bid. The 22-year-old hasn’t won a singles title since 2016 (which was on the ITF Tour) and has never won a main draw match at a grand slam. However, Lottner did stun Belinda Bencic earlier this year and has a winning 3-1 record against top 20 players.
Konta is expected to prevail in her opening match, but potentially the biggest threat she could face is herself. In the past, she has admitted that she doesn’t like playing matches at the favourite. Will her mental game cause problems against Lottner?
Novak Djokovic Vs Hubert Hurkacz
Novak Djokovic will be bidding to win his 22nd consecutive match in a grand slam tournament. The world No.1 is on the verge of becoming the first man in the Open Era to hold all four major titles at once for the second time in his career. Heading into the tournament, the Serbian has enjoyed a solid clay performance. Winning his first title on the surface since 2017 in Madrid, followed by reaching the final in Rome.
Djokovic has a far from easy first round opponent in the form of world No.44 Hubert Hurkacz. The 22-year-old Polish player has climbed the world rankings by almost 150 places within the past year. So far this season he has won just two matches in five clay-court tournaments played prior to this week. However, Hurkacz has also defeated three top 10 players already this year with all of those wins occurring on a hardcourt.
The top seed is expected to come through the match, but could face some stiff resistance from across the court. If Hurkacz finds his A game, the encounter may be closer than expected. Djokovic hasn’t lost his opening match at a grand slam since the 2006 Australian Open.
Petra Kvitova Vs Sorana Cirstea
Petra Kvitova is one of four women in contention of ending the tournament as world No.1. It was at Roland Garros in 2017 where she started her comeback to the tour following a knife attack. Since then, the Czech has won more WTA titles than any other player within that period. Including this year’s Stuttgart Open, which was played on indoor clay. Kvitova has already won 28 matches this season, which is the joint-highest on the WTA Tour.
Cirstea is more than familiar with Kvitova’s game after playing her on seven previous occasions. The Romanian enters the draw with a confidence boost after reaching the semi-finals in Nuremberg last week. Her best performance on the WTA Tour since 2017. Cirstea has been ranked as high as 21st in the world, back hasn’t won a WTA trophy since 2008.
It would be a huge shock if title contender Kvitova falls at the first hurdle. The Czech should be able to easily progress beyond the first round and thwart the threat her rival poses. She will be the first left-handed player Cirstea has played this year.
UPDATE: KVITOVA HAS WITHDRAWN DUE TO INJURY
Serena Williams Vs Vitalia Diatchenko
There is huge confusion surrounding the current health of Serena Williams. She withdrew from Rome with a knee injury, but looked in good shape whilst training in Paris last week. To add to the confusion, the former world No.1 was has been spotted in a wheelchair whilst at Disneyland. Overall, she has played only one competitive match on the clay and the French Open is her fifth tournament of the season.
Diatchenko has booked a place in the main draw for the first time since 2016. In recent weeks the Russian has played on the lower-level ITF circuit and won three consecutive tournaments between March and April. Her record in major tournaments is poor. Losing in the first round in seven out of her nine appearances. However, her two victories have occurred at the French Open in 2009 and 2015.
Williams is widely expected to win and is known to peak in time for the grand slams, but there are many unanswered questions. Nevertheless, she is likely to conjure up a way to progress to the second round.
Order of play
Court Philippe-Chatrier – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
C.WOZNIACKI [13] vs V.KUDERMETOVA
Men’s Singles First Round
Y.HANFMANN [Q] vs R.NADAL [2]
Men’s Singles First Round
N.DJOKOVIC [1] vs H.HURKACZ
Women’s Singles First Round
S.WILLIAMS [10] vs V.DIATCHENKO
Court Suzanne-Lenglen – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
P.PARMENTIER vs K.BERTENS [4]
Women’s Singles First Round
S.CIRSTEA vs P.KVITOVA [6]
Men’s Singles First Round
JW.TSONGA vs P.GOJOWCZYK
Men’s Singles First Round
D.THIEM [4] vs T.PAUL [W]
Court Simonne-Mathieu – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
V.KUZMOVA vs A.CORNET
Men’s Singles First Round
M.ZVEREV vs R.GASQUET
Men’s Singles First Round
S.WAWRINKA [24] vs J.KOVALIK
Women’s Singles First Round
B.STRYCOVA vs S.STOSUR
Court 1 -10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
K.KANEPI vs J.GOERGES [18]
Women’s Singles First Round
J.PEGULA vs A.BARTY [8]
Men’s Singles First Round
A.BEDENE vs B.CORIC [13]
Men’s Singles First Round
J.CHARDY vs K.EDMUND [28]
Court 14 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
PH.HERBERT vs D.MEDVEDEV [12]
Women’s Singles First Round
Z.DIYAS vs A.ALBIE [W]
Men’s Singles First Round
B.PAIRE vs M.COPIL
Women’s Singles First Round
M.BOUZKOVA [L] vs B.ANDREESCU [22]
Court 7 – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
J.KONTA [26] vs A.LOTTNER [Q]
Women’s Singles First Round
L.SAMSONOVA [Q] vs D.VEKIC [23]
Men’s Singles First Round
S.STAKHOVSKY [L] vs G.SIMON [26]
Men’s Singles First Round
D.SHAPOVALOV vs [20] JL.STRUFF
Court 6 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
A.VATUTIN vs [Q] C.MOUTET [W]
Women’s Singles First Round
S.ZHANG vs V.LEPCHENKO [Q]
Women’s Singles First Round
E.MERTENS [20] vs T.ZIDANSEK
Men’s Singles First Round
M.JANVIER [W] vs P.CUEVAS
Court 4 – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
L.DAVIS [W] vs Kr.PLISKOVA
Men’s Singles First Round
Y.MADEN [Q] vs K.COPPEJANS [Q]
Men’s Singles First Round
J.MUNAR vs S.CARUSO [Q]
Women’s Singles First Round
G.GATTO-MONTICONE vs [Q] S.KENIN
Court 5 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
P.CARRENO BUSTA vs J.SOUSA
Women’s Singles First Round
A.PAVLYUCHENKOVA vs M.MINELLA
Men’s Singles First Round
H.LAAKSONEN [L] vs P.MARTINEZ [Q]
Women’s Singles First Round
M.BUZARNESCU [30] vs E.ALEXANDROVA
Court 8 – 10:00 BST start
Women’s Singles First Round
D.PARRY [W] vs V.LAPKO
Men’s Singles First Round
R.CARBALLES BAENA vs A.MULLER [Q]
Women’s Singles First Round
Y.PUTINTSEVA vs R.PETERSON
Men’s Singles First Round
R.ALBOT vs T.SANDGREN [Q]
Court 9 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
N.BASILASHVILI [15] vs JI.LONDERO
Men’s Singles First Round
R.OPELKA vs C.GARIN
Women’s Singles First Round
D.COLLINS vs T.MARIA
Women’s Singles First Round
A.RISKE vs A.PETKOVIC
Court 10 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
M.KECMANOVIC vs D.KUDLA
Women’s Singles First Round
A.SHARMA vs S.ROGERS
Men’s Singles First Round
L.HARRIS vs L.ROSOL [L]
Women’s Singles First Round
K.NARA [Q] vs D.JAKUPOVIC
Court 12 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
F.KRAJINOVIC vs F.TIAFOE [32]
Men’s Singles First Round
G.ANDREOZZI vs G.PELLA [19]
Women’s Singles First Round
A.BOLSOVA [Q] vs V.ZVONAREVA
Women’s Singles First Round
SW.HSIEH [25] vs V.GOLUBIC
Court 13 – 10:00 BST start
Men’s Singles First Round
A.DE MINAUR [21] vs B.KLAHN
Women’s Singles First Round
L.KUMKHUM vs A.SEVASTOVA [12]
Women’s Singles First Round
D.YASTREMSKA vs C.SUAREZ NAVARRO [28]
Men’s Singles First Round
R.MOLLEKER [Q] vs A.BUBLIK
