\nPreamble<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n
Salut et bienvenue \u00e0 Roland-Garros 20126 \u2013 jour un! Notre \u00e9t\u00e9 starts here, and it\u2019s going to be a jazzer \u2013 or, to keep on theme, le jazzeur.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s fair to say we\u2019ve a strong idea of how the men\u2019s tournament might resolve, but the fun in getting there means we can ignore the inevitability for now and the women\u2019s even promises a royal rumble for the ages. The top four seeds will fancy their chances: Aryna Sabalenka is the best player in the world; Iga Swiatek is a four-time winner who\u2019d won three in a row prior to last year; Coco Gauff is the defending champ; and Elena Rybakina is on the surge, at one with her easy power.<\/p>\n
And of course there\u2019s a cast of other brilliant players \u2013 Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina, Victoria Mboko, Karol\u00edna Muchova, Naomi Osaka and others \u2013 good enough to sort any of them on a good day. Or, in other words, we\u2019re talking about what is now the most competitive, highest-level sport in the world.<\/p>\n
So it\u2019s no surprise that today\u2019s likeliest classic comes on the women\u2019s side, where Hailey Baptiste, the no 26 seed, meets Barbora Krejcikova, the winner in 2021 \u2013 and at Wimbledon in 2024. But that is not the size of things. Taylor Fritz\u2019s meeting with Nishesh Basavareddy looks tasty, Alexander Zverev meets Benjamin Bonzi, Francesca Jones takes on Bea Haddad Maia, and Emma Raducanu, Mirra Andreeva and Jo\u00e3o Fonseca all get under way.<\/p>\n
Alors on y va!<\/p>\n