Day one of the 2011 French Open is set to get going, and the opening day features a couple of exciting matchups. The highest ranking mens singles player on day one is David Ferrer, who is set to open his tournament run against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. Ferrer is looking relatively good in his 2011 campaign thus far, starting the season 27-7, but he did get bounced in the quarterfinals in his last outing, at ATP Nice.
Nieminen is the world number 50 and remains a relative unknown and, as such, a big underdog. Nieminen did beat Ferrer in their last outing, but it was on hard court (Rotterdam), and Ferrer looks to have the big advantage on the clay. You can say that about a lot of people, as it happens - his speed on clay has always been solid, and his style suits the play well.
Stanislas Wawrinka is also in action on day one. The 14th-ranked Wawrinka out of Switzerland is 19-8 on the season and is going up against the world number 178 Augustin Gensse in round one and he is, rightfully, a huge favorite. Wawrinka is fiercely determined to do damage early on in the tournament, and he's been put in a position to do so with a victory over Gensse.
Also of note for the men is Jo-Wilfried Tsonga taking on Jan Hajek, and the American (Fresno, CA born) Robert Kendrick hoping for an upset in his match against the world number 30 Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
The Ferrer match is on Court Philippe Chatrier, and is the second match on the court which begins play at 11:00 a.m. local time and 2:00 a.m. pacific time. The same applies for the Wawrinka match, but with court one, and the Kendrick match at court six. Tsonga's match will be on Court Philippe Chatrier following Ferrer's matchup.
This first round match takes place on Court Philippe Chatrier - the second match of the day on the court with a stadium start stime of 11am CET.