Defending champion Rafael Nadal will face Austrian young gun Dominic Thiem, Brit Andy Murray will be up against Australian Marinko Matosevic and Spaniard David Ferrer will lock horns with Italian Simone Bolelli in the second round of the French Open on Thursday.
Nadal registered an easy victory over his American opponent Robert Ginepri in the opening round, but the top-seed is expected to have a tough time against the 20-year-old Thiem.
Thiem is heading into the tournament on the back of impressive performances on clay, including a stunning victory over the Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka in the Madrid Open. It would be interesting to see whether one of the most promising players on the tour can trouble the "King of Clay".
"I heard very, very good things about him," said Nadal. "I didn't see him play, but I know he's a young player and he's a very dangerous opponent.
"To win against anyone I need to play at a good level, and I need to be ready for the fight. I need to be aggressive and need to find a rhythm on the legs and play solid points, find real ways to win the points. That's it."
The seventh-seeded Murray will taken on Matosevic in the second round after coming through an opening test against Kazakhstan's Andrey Golubev.
Murray will be the overwhelming favourite against Matosevic, who ended his Grand Slam slump by registered his first major win in 13 attempts. In their previous clash, the Brit defeated the 28-year-old Australian at the Queen's Club last year.
The 27-year-old Murray, who suffered a slump in rankings after undergoing back surgery, insisted he has worked hard on his fitness and is motivated to win another Grand Slam title.
"I felt once I had my surgery was when I started looking forward again," Murray said. "The way I train in the gym is tough, it's hard. I enjoy that and getting into shape to perform over five sets in the tournaments, and my goal is to try to win Grand Slams. That's what motivates me."
Last year's finalist, Ferrer opened his campaign against Dutchman Igor Sijsling with an easy straight-set win and the Spaniard will be hoping to keep his form going against Italian Bolelli in the second round.
In the women's singles, fifth-seeded Petra Kvitova is set to face Australian Marina Erakovic, while sixth-seeded Jelena Jankovic will lock horns with Japanese Kurumi Nara in the second round. Italian 10th-seed Sara Errani is pitted against German Dinah Pfizenmaier.
Schedule of Play: Men
David Ferrer vs Simone Bolelli starts at 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT
Rafael Nadal vs Dominic Thiem starts at 4:30 pm IST, 11:00 am GMT
Andy Murray vs Marinko Matosevic starts at 7:30 pm IST, 2:00 pm GMT
Richard Gasquet vs Carlos Berlocq starts at 7:30 pm IST, 2:00 pm GMT
Gael Monfils vs Jan-Lennard Struff starts at 9:30 pm IST, 4:00 pm GMT
Schedule of Play: Women
Jelena Jankovic vs Kurumi Nara starts at 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT
Kirsten Flipkens vs Julia Glushko starts at 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT
Sara Errani vs Dinah Pfizenmaier starts at 4:30 pm IST, 11:00 am GMT
Petra Kvitova vs Marina Erakovic starts at 7:30 pm IST, 2:00 pm GMT
Where to Watch Live
The day's action is scheduled for 2:30 pm IST, 9:00 am GMT and 5:00 am ET start, with live coverage on NBC Sports and ESPN 2 in the US and NEO Prime and NEO Sports in India. International viewers, including India, can catch the action via live streaming HERE or HERE. Listen to the action HERE. Viewers in the US can live stream the matches HERE or HERE, while the second round can be live streamed by UK viewers HERE.
