Jannik Sinner and Coco Gauff begin their French Open title bids against Clement Tabur and Taylor Townsend, with Sinner aiming for a career Grand Slam and Gauff defending her title.
Jannik Sinner is set to commence his first bid to complete the career Grand Slam at Roland Garros, with the world number one facing French wildcard Clement Tabur in the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier. Sinner has been in impressive form, clinching his sixth successive Masters title at the Italian Open earlier this month, and completing the set of all nine 1000-level trophies. He has also won tournament titles on clay in Monte Carlo and Madrid, and is on a 29-match winning streak, with his last defeat coming against Jakub Mensik in Doha in February.
Sinner will be playing at Roland Garros for the first time since his agonising loss to Carlos Alcaraz in last year's final, in which he led by two sets and missed three championship points. Despite being the overwhelming favourite in the men's draw, Sinner remains focused on the task at hand, acknowledging that everyone is trying to beat him. He believes that best-of-five matches give him a little more time to understand how to beat a player, and even if he has a wrong start, he can potentially find a way to recover.
Coco Gauff, the women's fourth seed, begins her defence of the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen against fellow American Taylor Townsend. Gauff has struggled for consistency since beating Aryna Sabalenka in last year's title decider in Paris, but did reach the Italian Open final before losing to Elina Svitolina. She could reach at least the quarter-finals for a sixth successive year at Roland Garros, where she has by far her best record in Grand Slam events. Gauff is not dwelling on her past results, however, and is instead focusing on the present, stating that she does not even think about her past results when she comes to the tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one, enters Roland Garros with question marks around her form after a Madrid Open quarter-final loss to Hailey Baptiste and another shock defeat in the third round against Sorana Cirstea in Rome. However, she believes she will be fresh when she starts her latest tilt at a maiden French Open title, facing Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain. Sabalenka has been working on her recovery and is confident that she is 100 percent fit, having struggled physically at the beginning of the clay court season. Other notable matches include four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka playing Laura Siegemund of Germany, and the Philippines' Alexandra Eala facing a tough test against 17th-seeded teenager Iva Jovic. As the French Open gets underway, all eyes will be on Sinner and Gauff as they bid to make a strong start to their title campaigns.
