The French Open tennis tournament launched Sunday in Paris amid sweltering heat as spectators wearing panama hats filled Roland Garros stadium, creating an atmosphere more reminiscent of a resort than a grueling tennis competition, with walkways featuring violin performances of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida” and similar soft-rock favorites.
Tournament organizers scheduled matches to begin at 0900 GMT (1100 local time) as thermometers were forecast to climb above 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).
The opening day featured Russian Karen Khachanov, seeded 13, facing French hope Arthur Gea on Court Suzanne Lenglen one hour before 11th-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic started action on Court Philippe Chatrier against Austria’s Sinja Kraus.
The premier clay court tournament faced significant player losses when two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz withdrew last month due to a wrist injury, followed by highly anticipated local favorite Arthur Fils pulling out Saturday with an injury.
World number one Jannik Sinner of Italy enters as the top men’s contender, while the women’s competition appears highly competitive with no clear frontrunner.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, pursuing a milestone 25th Grand Slam championship, was scheduled to begin his tournament run later Sunday against powerful French server Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
In women’s action, Russian eighth seed Mirra Andreeva represented the top-ranked player competing when she faced French wildcard recipient Fiona Ferro.
