Day 2 in Paris is the second of three days featuring first round singles action.

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will make their 2023 Roland Garros debuts on Monday, with both being heavy favorites in their opening rounds.  So this preview will dive deeper into the first round matches of two other Major singles champions: Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem, both of whom are fighting to regain their form of yesteryear.

Two of the day’s other most appetizing matchups include two Italians with previous success at this tournament.  Fabio Fognini will look to upset a top 10 seed when he takes on a struggling Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Martina Trevisan plays a resurgent mother in Elina Svitolina.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Monday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.

Felix Auger-Aliassime (10) vs. Fabio Fognini – Second on Court Simonne-Mathieu

Auger-Aliassime is a meager 13-9 this season, and just 1-2 on clay.  Felix has not been fully healthy, as only a few days ago, he withdrew from Lyon due to a shoulder injury.  A year ago at this event, he pushed Rafael Nadal to five sets, while being coached by Uncle Toni.  But in this match, FAA is on upset alert, against a former Roland Garros quarterfinalist.

That result for Fognini occurred 12 years ago in Paris.  The biggest title of Fabio’s career also came on this surface, when he won Monte Carlo in 2019.  The 36-year-old Italian is only 4-9 on the year, though two of those victories took place recently on clay in Rome, when he defeated both Andy Murray and Miomir Kecmanovic.

Their only prior encounter also occurred and clay, which was four years ago in Rio.  Felix prevailed in straight sets on that day.  But on this day, the unpredictable Fabio may be a slight favorite to eliminate the tenth seed in the opening round.

Stan Wawrinka vs. Albert Ramos-Vinolas – Second on Court 14

Wawrinka’s French Open title run took place eight years ago.  Stan reached the quarterfinals or better at this tournament in five of the last 10 years.  But injuries have derailed the 38-year-old’s career in recent years, and he’s just 12-10 this season at tour level.

35-year-old Ramos-Vinolas was a quarterfinalist in Paris seven years ago.  His only Masters 1000 final also came on this surface, six years ago in Monte Carlo.  A year ago here, he gave Carlos Alcaraz a scare, going up two-sets-to-one before losing in five.  But in 2023, Albert is just 6-16 at tour level.

Wawrinka has dominated their history 7-0, but they haven’t played since they met in the quarters of this tournament in 2016.  Can Stan recapture some of the magic he’s displayed in the past at this event?  On Monday, he’s the favorite to advance against a tough clay court opponent.

Elina Svitolina vs. Martina Trevisan (26) – Third on Court Simonne-Mathieu

On Saturday, in just her third WTA tournament since becoming a mother for the first time, Svitolina became the champion in Strasbourg.  Elina is 22-9 at Roland Garros, having reached the quarterfinals three times. 

Trevisan equaled that result back in 2020, then she surpassed it a year ago, reaching the semifinals of this event.  Yet in 2023, Martina is only 11-13 overall, and 4-4 on clay.

In their first career meeting, Trevisan should be favored.  This will be a quick turnaround for Svitolina from Strasbourg, and she is not yet re-accustomed to playing so many matches within a short time span.

Dominic Thiem vs. Pedro Cachin – Third on Court 6

Between 2016 and 2020, Thiem reached two finals, two more semifinals, and another quarterfinal in Paris.  But since a serious wrist injury sidelined him in 2021, Dominic is 0-2 at this event.  The Austrian is 11-15 this season at all levels, and is coming off two Challenger events on clay earlier this month.

Cachin is a 28-year-old from Argentina who reached the final of a Challenger event on clay in April, before advancing to the round of 16 at the Madrid Masters thanks to impressive victories over Francisco Cerundolo and Frances Tiafoe.  Pedro advanced to the second round of this event in his French Open main draw debut a year ago.

They have never played at tour level, but they did meet at a Challenger tournament last year on clay, with Cachin prevailing in straight sets.  However, it’s worth noting that was Thiem’s first event in nearly a year after returning from injury.  On Monday, I expect the two-time finalist to rediscover enough of his form to prevail.

Other Notable Matches on Monday:

Karolina Pliskova (16) vs. Sloane Stephens – This is a matchup between two players who have each achieved two Major finals, with Stephens winning the 2017 US Open, yet neither arrives in Paris with much form.  Pliskova got off to a strong start on the year, but is just 2-2 on clay, and has been dealing with a knee injury.  Sloane is 9-11 at tour level, though she is coming off a semifinal run this past week in Rabat.  Stephens leads their head-to-head 4-1, which includes a straight-set win at this event in 2021.

Novak Djokovic (3) vs. Aleksandar Kovacevic – Djokovic is a two-time champion of this tournament, and is 85-16 here lifetime.  He’s reached at least the quarterfinals for 13 straight years, though he’s been battling an elbow injury, and is just 5-3 on clay this season.  Kovacevic is a 24-year-old American who has never been ranked inside the top 100.

Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Flavio Cobolli (Q) – Alcaraz is an excellent 30-3 this year, and won back-to-back titles on clay in his home country before suffering a shocking loss to qualifier Fabian Marozsan in Rome.  This will be Carlitos’ first match at a Major since winning last year’s US Open, as he missed the Australian due to injury.  Cobolli is a 21-year-old Italian qualifier making his main draw debut at a Slam.

Arthur Fils (WC) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29) – Fils is an 18-year-old French standout who on Saturday won his first ATP title in his home country, defeating Francisco Cerundolo in the final of Lyon.  Davidovich Fokina is just 17-13 on the year, but was a quarterfinalist here two years ago. 

Monday’s full Order of Play is here.

Uniquely, the first round of singles at the French Open is played across the first three days of the tournament, at the only Major that commences on a Sunday.

For the first time since 2004, 14-time champion Rafael Nadal is not present in Paris due to his ongoing injury issues.  The men’s singles draw only features two previous Roland Garros champions: Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka.  And they are both in a stacked top half of the draw alongside top seed Carlos Alcaraz and 2021 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.  Recent Rome champ and No.2 seed Daniil Medvedev leads the bottom half of the draw, along with last year’s runner-up Casper Ruud.

The WTA singles draw is headlined by two-time and defending champion Iga Swiatek, with Australian Open champ Aryna Sabalenka atop the bottom half of the draw.  The top two seeds split two big clay tournament finals this season.  Are they headed for a rubber match in Paris?  Overall the women’s draw includes nine Major singles champions, like reigning Wimbledon champ Elena Rybakina, who has defeated both Swiatek and Sabalenka this year.  Elena is in Iga’s half of the draw, as is 2021 champ Barbora Krejcikova, who also beat Swiatek this year.

Tsitsipas and Sabalenka are both featured in Sunday’s Order of Play, as are a few blockbuster WTA first round matchups.

Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s four most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule.  Sunday’s play begins at 11:00am local time.

Marta Kostyuk vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – 11:00am on Court Philippe-Chatrier

This is Sabalenka’s first match at a Major since winning her first Slam title at the last Major in Australia.  And it will also be an awkward matchup, if not contentious, between a Ukrainian player and a Belarusian player, as Russia’s unprovoked attack of Ukraine continues.

Aryna is an excellent 29-5 on the year, and 9-2 on clay.  The Australian Open is just one of three titles she’s collected this year, along with Adelaide and Madrid.  But Sabalenka is just 7-5 lifetime at this event, and has never advanced into the second week.

Kostyuk has been expected to become a top player since impressing at the age of 14, when she won the 14-and-under annual competition at the Orange Bowl.  Marta also reached the fourth round of this event just two years ago, after she upset Garbine Muguruza in the first round.  But in her other two appearances at this tournament, she’s been eliminated in her opening match.

Sabalenka claimed their only previous meeting in straight sets, which occurred last year on a hard court in Dubai.  And while this is a complicated matchup, Aryna is the favorite to again prevail on Sunday.  Her aggressive game and confident form have made her the WTA’s most formidable player of 2023, leading the year-to-date rankings.

Maria Sakkari (8) vs. Karolina Muchova – Second on Court Suzanne-Lenglen

This is a an extremely challenging draw for the 2021 semifinalist.  Of course it was two years ago at this event when Sakkari was just one point from achieving her first final at a Major, when eventual champion Barbora Krejcikova came back to claim victory.  And a year ago, Maria was upset in the second round by the same opponent she faces on Sunday.

Muchova outlasted Sakkari in that 2022 matchup after two tiebreak sets.  Muchova is a former top 20 player and has three times reached the quarterfinals or better at a Major, but has struggled to regain her ranking after injuries interrupted her career.  Yet Karolina is a strong 19-7 this season, which is similar to Maria’s record of 20-10

At tour level, Muchova is 2-0 against Sakkari, with her other win coming two years ago in Madrid, and obviously also on clay.  That match went all the way to 7-5 in the third.  I fully expect another tight contest between these two on Sunday, but I must give the slight edge to Muchova to make it 3-0 against Sakkari.

Laslo Djere vs. Andrey Rublev (7) – Third on Court Suzanne-Lenglen

Can this become the Major where Rublev finally breaks through to a semifinal?  The 25-year-old is now 0-7 in Slam quarterfinals, after being dominated by Novak Djokovic this past January in Melbourne.  But Andrey broke through in another way last month, winning his first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo, after coming from behind to defeat Holger Rune.

Djere is far from an easy first round draw, especially on this surface.  Both of Laslo’s ATP titles have come on clay, and his five main draw victories at Roland Garros are more than he’s accumulated at the other three Majors combined.  Djere is 15-12 this year at tour-level, compared to 25-10 for Rublev, though Djere reached a Challenger final on clay earlier this month.

Rublev leads their tour-level head-to-head 3-0, and 4-1 including Challenger events from years ago.  Those three ATP victories all came during 2022, and include a five-set struggle in the first round of the US Open.  Andrey should be favored to win again on this day, and likely in less than five sets this time around.

Danielle Collins vs. Jessica Pegula (3) – Last on Court Suzanne-Lenglen

While Pegula is the third seed, Collins is the player who has achieved bigger success at a Major.  A year ago in Australia, Danillie went all the way to the final, before losing to Ash Barty in what ended up becoming the Australian’s retirement match.  Injuries and illness have plagued Collins’ career across the last few seasons, and this will be her first match in nearly two months, when she lost to another American, Shelby Rogers, in Charleston.

Pegula is 27-9 in 2023, and has advanced to the quarterfinals at four of the last five Majors, including here a year ago.  But she is coming off an opening round loss in Rome to yet another American, Taylor Townsend. 

However, this rivalry has been completed one-sided to date, with Jess leading 4-0 at all levels, and having taken eight of nine sets.  That includes a straight-set win just two months ago in Miami.  Pegula is a strong favorite to remain undefeated against Collins on Sunday.

Other Notable Matches on Sunday:

David Goffin vs. Hubert Hurkacz – Goffin made his big breakthrough at this event 11 years ago, but is now ranked outside the top 100, and has a losing record this season at tour level.  Hurkacz is 17-11, yet just 3-3 on clay.  They split two meetings last year on clay, with Hubi winning in straights in the third round of this same tournament.

Jiri Vesely vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (5) – Tsitsipas is 25-8 on the year, though he’s now 0-5 in his last five finals, which includes the final of the last Major.  Vesely has only played four matches this season, all at Challenger level, and is just 5-10 lifetime at the French Open.

Magda Linette (21) vs. Leylah Fernandez – Linette was a surprise semifinalist at the last Major, but is only 8-9 since.  Fernandez suffered a bad foot injury in the round of 16 of this tournament a year ago, and has failed to regain her momentum since returning to action.  They have split two prior encounters, both on clay.

Lucas Pouille (Q) vs. Jurij Rodionov (LL) – Pouille was the story of the qualifying week, as the 29-year-old former top 10 player from France qualified for his home Major in an emotional scene, celebrating with his baby daughter after years of battling injury, depression, and alcohol issues.  The man he beat to qualify?  That’s also his opponent on Sunday, as this is the third time in Major history that a lucky loser will meet the man he lost to in qualifying in a main-draw rematch, according to the ATP.

Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.

The former long-time coach of Rafael Nadal has said the Spaniard will be playing at this year’s French Open despite his recent injury struggles. 

Toni Nadal, who was the person that introduced his nephew to the sport, told Radio Marca on Friday that the 22-time Grand Slam champion will be returning to action soon. Nadal hasn’t played on the Tour since his second round loss at the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury. Earlier this year he was diagnosed with a psoas injury in his left leg and was told it would take roughly eight weeks to recover. However, his rehabilitation process has taken considerably longer.

“He would like to be competing now, but there is little left for that to happen. He is going to play in Paris, although how he trains in the coming weeks and what he can do in Rome will be important to measure his aspirations there,” El Espanol was quoted as saying to Radio Marca. 

The mention of Rome raises speculation that Nadal could return to action at the Foro Italico. However, this is yet to be confirmed by him or a member of his team. The tournament starts a week on Monday and it is the last big event to take place before the French Open. 

Nadal’s latest injury blow raises fresh concerns about his future in the sport. He is one of only four players in the top 100 aged 36 or over alongside Richard Gasquet, John Isner and Stan Wawrinka. However, talk of a possible retirement from the sport has been swiftly dismissed by his uncle. 

“He is not thinking about retiring, he just wants to recover well and continue competing because he is passionate about this sport,” he stated. 

Despite Nadal’s absence, interest in Spanish tennis is still high due to the presence of world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz who is headlining this week’s Madrid Masters where he is the defending champion. The 19-year-old has already won three titles this season and is regarded as one of the favourites in Roland Garros.

Recently, Alcaraz says he does not want to take over from his compatriot and instead create his own path in the sport. However, in the eyes of Toni, the two are similar. 

“Both are very intense. They are similar; they reach the limit, they put their rivals in trouble with powerful blows and in important moments they both respond well,” he said.

Toni is at the Madrid Open this week coaching Felix Auger-Aliassime.