French Open 2024: Carlos Alcaraz, Naomi Osaka, Andy Murray and Andrey Rublev set to headline blockbuster opening Sunday at Roland Garros
The French Open, the second Grand Slam of the year, is set to begin on May 26. The first Sunday has some big matches that involve top-ranked players and past Grand Slam champions who will take center stage on the Parisian clay.
The opening match of Andy Murray is one of the top-billing clashes. The Brit has already announced that 2024 might be his last season. The former World No. 1 is slated to face a multiple Grand Slam winner and former Roland Garros champion in Stan Wawrinka. The Brit leads the Swiss in their head-to-head 13-10.
The opening day will also feature the third seed and one of the favorites to win the tournament, Carlos Alcaraz. The Spanish sensation has won two Grand Slam titles and is one of the crowd-pullers on the ATP tour due to his creative shotmaking and outrageous athletic abilities. Alcaraz is, however, entering the tournament under an injury cloud. He is slated to face one of the qualifiers in the opening round.
Another top player who will play on the opening day is sixth seed Andrey Rublev. The Russian recently proved his credentials on the red dirt by winning the Madrid Open.
Rublev is slated to face Taro Daniel of Japan. The head-to-head between the two is 2-0 in favor of the Russian. However, the pair met on the opposite sides of the net at the French Open in the qualifying rounds in 2017. The Japanese player came up trumps on that occasion.
In the women's section of the draw, one of the top matches of the day will be between former top-ranked player Naomi Osaka and Lucia Bronzetti. This is the first time that the two players will face each other. If Osaka wins, a potential clash with current World No. 1 Iga Swiatek awaits her in the next round.
Tennis journalist Jose Morgado shared these opening-day match-ups on social media.
"Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev, Wawrinka vs. Murray, Kei Nishikori, Gasquet vs. Coric, Naomi Osaka, Barbora Krejcikova and Jelena Ostapenko are playing on a big first Sunday at #RolandGarros" on X (formerly Twitter)
Murray and Alcaraz have a good record at Roland Garros; Naomi Osaka yet to reach second week
Andy Murray, Carlos Alcaraz and Naomi Osaka are players who all have been at the No. 1 ranking in singles. However, there's stark contrast between Alcaraz and Murray's records at the Slam and that of Osaka.
Her best result so far has been three trips to the third round in 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Alcaraz has played at the French Open only three times. His best result was the run to the semi-finals last year, where he lost to the eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
With 11 appearances, Murray is a veteran at the French Open. He has multiple semi-final appearances, but his best Roland Garros result was in 2016 when he made it to the final, losing to Novak Djokovic.