Djokovic, Nadal, Serena star in super Tuesday
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic returns the ball during a training session for the French Tennis Open at the Roland Garros stadium, Friday, May 22, 2015 in Paris. AP PHOTO
World number one Novak Djokovic, nine-time champion Rafael Nadal and double women’s title winner Serena Williams get their 2015 French Open campaigns under way on Tuesday.
Top seed Djokovic, bidding to win a first Roland Garros and become just the eighth man to achieve the career Grand Slam, is scheduled to face Nadal in the quarter-finals.
READ: Djokovic targeting elusive French Open title
But his first job is to take on Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen, one of 39 men over 30 to start the main draw this year.
Nadal, with a record in Paris of 66 wins and just one defeat, is seeded sixth, his lowest rank for a decade.
He starts against French 18-year-old Quentin Halys, ranked 296 in the world and making his Grand Slam debut.
Women’s top seed Serena Williams, the 2002 and 2013 champion, begins against the Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova.
The 190th-ranked Czech lost 6-0, 6-0 to Williams in their only other meeting three years ago at the US Open.
Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova, the fourth seeded Czech, opens play on Court Philippe Chatrier against Marina Erakovic of New Zealand.
BACKSTORY: Kvitova crushes Bouchard to win Wimbledon crown
Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer, the runner-up to Nadal in 2013, starts proceedings on Court Suzanne Lenglen against Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko.
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, who has never got beyond the quarter-finals, faces Italy’s Karin Knapp, the weekend winner of the Nuremberg title.
Canadian sixth seed Eugenie Bouchard, who made the semi-finals in 2014, plays France’s Kristina Mladenovic.
French Open order of play on showcourts on Tuesday, the third day of the 2015 tournament at Roland Garros (x denotes seeded player; 0900GMT start):
Court Philippe Chatrier
Petra Kvitova (CZE x4) v Marina Erakovic (NZL)
Quentin Halys (FRA) v Rafael Nadal (ESP x6)
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) v Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Serena Williams (USA x1) v Andrea Hlavackova (CZE)
Court Suzanne Lenglen
Lukas Lacko (SVK) v David Ferrer (ESP x7)
Karin Knapp (ITA) v Caroline Wozniacki (DEN x5)
Richard Gasquet (FRA x20) v Germain Gigounon (BEL)
Kristina Mladenovic (FRA) v Eugenie Bouchard (CAN x6)
Court N.1
Kiki Bertens (NED) v Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x18)
Jeremy Chardy (FRA) v Michael Berrer (GER)
Andrea Petkovic (GER x10) v Shelby Rogers (USA)
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x10) v Jack Sock (USA)
