Return of the public, Alcaraz on the Central, six Blues in the running: five reasons to follow the first day of Roland-Garros

For the return of the public and full stands, finally

Upset during the last two editions with the covid crisis, Roland-Garros will welcome the public without having to impose a gauge this year.

No curfew either scheduled for spectators who will be able to walk around the aisles of the stadium without a mask, of course.

Back to normal life, finally.

The leaders are also expecting the big crowd this Sunday since almost 95% of the tickets have found takers for the fortnight.

To discover

• Roland Garros men's singles

• Roland Garros single ladies

For the phenomenon Carlos Alcaraz on center court

He is announced as the future big star of the circuit, the man who can create a sensation this year at Roland-Garros.

The organizers have reserved Carlos Alcaraz, seeded n°6, the Center Court for his entry into the tournament.

The Spaniard will be opposed to the Argentinian Juan Ignacio Londero (141st player in the world) at the very end of the program.

The two men have never faced each other on the circuit.

Read alsoRoland Garros: Carlos Alcaraz, a long-awaited climb of the steps

To see where the worrying Dominic Thiem is

The Austrian is going through an ordeal with ten straight defeats on the circuit and is having the greatest difficulty in regaining his level after months of injuries.

Now the 194th player in the world, the winner of the US Open 2020 arrives in Paris without landmarks and a complicated first round awaits him against Hugo Dellien.

The Bolivian is certainly not a thunderbolt on paper (87th player in the world) but he is a pure clay court specialist, who plays almost exclusively on this surface.

A challenge for Thiem (194th in the ATP ranking) scheduled on the Suzanne Lenglen at the start of the day.

The worst and best outfits on the courts of Roland-Garros

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For a good shot by Quentin Halys against John Isner

At 37, John Isner no longer seems to be performing as well as in previous seasons and clay has never really been his cup of tea in Paris.

Quentin Halys, who entered the Top 100 for the first time in his career a few days ago, therefore has a good shot to play on the Suzanne-Lenglen court against the American giant.

The 25-year-old Frenchman, 86th player in the world, comes out of an interesting preparation for the Challenger tournament in Bordeaux where he reached the final (defeat against Popyrin).

He could be the good surprise on the tricolor side this Sunday.

Read alsoHow French tennis seeks to return to success

To follow the Blues in search of leaders

French tennis is looking for a leader, whether among girls or boys.

On paper, it's hard to imagine a Habs in the second week at home, but a surprise cannot be ruled out.

On Sunday, there will be five on deck in addition to Quentin Halys: Harmony Tan, Carole Monnet, Kristina Mladenovic and Clara Burel for girls, Grégoire Barrière for boys.

Read alsoPatrick Proisy: “Roland-Garros is a holy grail for all players”

Sunday's schedule:

Court Philippe Chatrier (start at 11 a.m.)

Ons JABEUR (TUN) vs.

Magda LINETTE (POL)

Felix AUGER-ALIASSIME (CAN) vs.

Juan Pablo VARILLAS (PER)

vs.

Maria SAKKARI (GRE)

Juan Ignacio LONDERO (ARG) vs.

Carlos ALCARAZ (ESP)

Court Suzanne Lenglen

Sloane STEPHENS (USA) vs.

Jule NIEMEIER (GER)

John ISNER (USA) vs.

Alexander ZVEREV (GER) vs.

Sebastian OFNER (AUT)

- Leylah FERNANDEZ (CAN)

Court Simonne Mathieu

Hugo DELLIEN (BOL) vs.

Dominic THIEM (AUT)

Kaia KANEPI (EST) vs.

Garbine MUGURUZA (ESP)

Fabio FOGNINI (ITA) vs.

Alexei POPYRIN (AUS)

Coco GAUFF (USA) - Rebecca MARINO (CAN)

Court n°6

Sorana CIRSTEA (ROU) vs.

Tatjana MARIA (GER)

Andrey KUZNETSOV (---) vs.

Diego SCHWARTZMAN (ARG)

Tallon GRIEKSPOOR (NED) vs.

Alejandro DAVIDOVICH FOKINA (ESP)

Elena-Gabriela RUSE (ROU) vs.

Elise MERTENS (BEL)

Court n°7

Grigor DIMITROV (BUL) vs.

Marcos GIRON (USA)

vs.

Karolina MUCHOVA (CZE)

Bernarda PERA (USA) vs.

Jil TEICHMANN (SUI)

Albert RAMOS-VINOLAS (ESP) vs.

Thanasi KOKKINAKIS (AUS)

Court n°8

Aljaz BEDENE (SLO) vs.

Christopher O'CONNELL (AUS)

Pablo CUEVAS (URU) vs.

Jenson BROOKSBY (USA)

Astra SHARMA (AUS) vs.

Varvara GRACHEVA (---)

Mirjam BJORKLUND (SWE) vs.

Donna VEKIC (CRO)

Court n°9

Daniel ALTMAIER (GER) vs.

Jaume MUNAR (ESP)

Aliaksandra SASNOVICH (---) vs.

Xinyu WANG (CHN)

Olga DANILOVIC (SRB) vs.

Dalma GALFI (HUN)

Michael MMOH (USA) vs.

Bernabe ZAPATA MIRALLES (ESP)

Court n°12

Beatriz HADDAD MAIA (BRA) vs.

Cristina BUCSA (ESP)

Botic VAN DE ZANDSCHULP (NED) vs.

Pavel KOTOV (---)

Camilo UGO CARABELLI (ARG) vs.

Aslan KARATSEV (---)

Lauren DAVIS (USA) vs.

Marie BOUZKOVA (CZE)

Court n°13

Borna CORIC (CRO) vs.

Carlos TABERNER (ESP)

Katerina SINIAKOVA (CZE) vs.

Petra MARTIC (CRO)

Alison VAN UYTVANCK (BEL) vs.

Ann LI (USA)

Jason KUBLER (AUS) vs.

Denis KUDLA (USA)

Court n°14

Camila OSORIO (COL) vs.

Taro DANIEL (JPN) vs.

Nuno BORGES (POR) vs.

Karen KHACHANOV (---)

Belinda BENCIC (SUI) Reka Luca JANI (HUN)