The first round of the 2011 French Open enters its second day with some serious matchups to follow. Many of the big names will be in action Monday morning. Even though most of the big seeds will roll with relative ease, it's the first opportunity to check them out in the Grand Slam. The French Open will be broadcast in the US on the Tennis Channel, ESPN2, NBC and TV5. However, today's matchups are only available on The Tennis Channel, and not on ESPN2 like yesterday.
For most people, the Tennis Channel is part of a sports package of channels. If you do not get that package or you're at work during the tournament, fear not. Tennischannel.com provides a live online stream that allows you to watch all their normal coverage for free. It appears to require Flash Player, so you might need to download it. If you follow online, you can also engage in chat sessions with fellow tennis fans and also view the entire schedule of matches for the day.
Today's matches include big names like Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Caroline Wozniacki, and Vera Zvonareva. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Tennis Channel start their coverage on Court Philippe Chatrier with American Melanie Oudin versus fifth seeded Francesca Schiavone of Italy. I'd imagine they'll bounce around between matchups, but that's probably the best starting matchup of the day.
Tennis Channel's coverage of day two kicks off at 2:00am pacific and will continue through noon pacific. That will be followed by the French Open Tonight recap show. If you are looking for more coverage, RolandGarros TV provides video of highlights, interviews and other assorted footage.
We'll be providing wall-to-wall coverage of the 2011 French Open over the next two weeks. Check back in our French Open 2011 story stream for news, analysis and other details. For more detailed conversation, join the folks at The Daily Forehand.