French Open 2017: Monday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket

The 2017 French Open will move into second gear on Monday as the biggest stars begin their crusades toward Roland Garros glory following this weekend's first fixtures.

Among those who will be getting their first taste of the men's tournament on Monday is Rafael Nadal, who faces stiff opposition in the form of home favourite Benoit Paire, while women's No. 2 seed Karolina Pliskova faces Saisai Zheng.

Reigning women's champion Garbine Muguruza will open her title defence against 2010 champion Francesca Schiavone on the Philippe-Chatrier Court, the same location on which Novak Djokovic will meet Marcel Granollers later in the day.

Sunday's first-round action wasn't without its fair share of drama as men's seeds Dominic Thiem, Grigor Dimitrov and Albert Ramos Vinolas all advanced, while Petra Kvitova, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Shelby Rogers all progressed in the women's singles.

"

.@GrigorDimitrov ended a three-year Roland-Garros drought on Day 1. Don't miss the highlights.  #RG17 pic.twitter.com/KmtKcCRrWR

— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) May 29, 2017"

The opening day of the competition also saw women's No. 1 seed Angelique Kerber make a shock exit at the hands of Ekaterina Makarova following a 6-2, 6-2 win for the Russian, showing surprises are afoot in Paris.

Adam Pretty/Getty Images

Monday's fixtures get underway at 10 a.m. BST (4 a.m. ET) across 15 courts, and we provide a rundown of the match list in full, complete with preview and predictions for the upcoming slate.

Visit the official Roland Garros website for a look at the French Open schedule.

Monday's French Open Fixtures (Predicted Winner)

• [4] Garbine Muguruza vs. Francesca Schiavone (Muguruza)
• Marcel Granollers vs. [2] Novak Djokovic (Djokovic)
• Jennifer Brady vs. [13] Kristina Mladenovic (Mladenovic)
• [9] Alexander Zverev vs. Fernando Verdasco (Zverev)
• [11] Caroline Wozniacki vs. Jaimee Fourlis (Wozniacki)
• Benoit Paire vs. [4] Rafael Nadal (Nadal)
• Saisai Zheng vs. [2] Karolina Pliskova (Pliskova)
• [24] Richard Gasquet vs. Arthur De Greef (Gasquet)
• [31] Gilles Simon vs. Nikoloz Basilashvili (Simon)
• Paul-Henri Mathieu vs. [10] David Goffin (Goffin)
• [23] Samantha Stosur vs. Kristina Kucova (Stosur)
• Irina Khromacheva vs. Pauline Parmentier (Khromacheva)
• [5] Milos Raonic vs. Steve Darcis (Raonic)
• Ajla Tomljanovic vs. [18] Kiki Bertens (Bertens)
• Ernests Gulbis vs. [7] Marin Cilic (Cilic)
• Alize Lim vs. Magda Linette (Linette)
• Aljaz Bedene vs. Ryan Harrison (Bedene)
• Elise Mertens vs. [24] Daria Gavrilova (Gavrilova)
• Sara Errani vs. Misaki Doi (Errani)
• Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs. Jared Donaldson (Herbert)
• Anett Kontaveit vs. Monica Niculescu (Niculescu)
• Catherine Bellis vs. Quirine Lemoine (Bellis)
• Konstantin Kravchuk vs. Federico Delbonis (Delbonis)
• Varvara Lepchenko vs. Andrea Petkovic (Petkovic)
• Viktor Troicki vs. Evgeny Donskoy (Troicki)
• Rogerio Dutra Silva vs. Mikhail Youzhny (Youzhny)
• [25] Lauren Davis vs. Carina Witthoeft (Davis)
• Myrtille Georges vs. [27] Yulia Putintseva (Putintseva)
• Simone Bolelli vs. Nicolas Mahut (Mahut)
• Maxime Hamou vs. [22] Pablo Cuevas (Cuevas)
• [14] Elena Vesnina vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia (Vesnina)
• Jelena Jankovic vs. Richel Hogenkamp (Jankovic)
• Johanna Larsson vs. Natalia Vikhlyantseva (Vikhlyantseva)
• Santiago Giraldo vs. Andreas Seppi (Seppi)
• Mariana Duque-Marino vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (Begu)
• Yen-Hsun Lu vs. Sergiy Stakhovsky (Stakhovsky)
• Danka Kovinic vs. [29] Ana Konjuh (Konjuh)
• Teymuraz Gabashvili vs. Victor Estrella Burgos (Burgos)
• [14] Jack Sock vs. Jiri Vesely (Vesely)
• Mathias Bourgue vs. Borna Coric (Coric)
• Kirsten Flipkens vs. Mandy Minella (Flipkens)
• Magdalena Rybarikova vs. [19] Coco Vandeweghe (Vandeweghe)
• Andrey Rublev vs. Diego Schwartzman (Schwartzman)
• Ekaterina Alexandrova vs. Katerina Siniakova (Alexandrova)
• Damir Dzumhur vs. Nicolas Kicker (Dzumhur)
• [32] Shuai Zhang vs. Donna Vekic (Zhang)
• [32] Mischa Zverev vs. Stefano Napolitano (Zverev)
• [16] Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova vs. Patricia Maria Tig (Pavlyuchenkova)
• Frances Tiafoe vs. [28] Fabio Fognini (Fognini)
• John Millman vs. [17] Roberto Bautista Agut (Bautista Agut)
• Francoise Abanda vs. Tessah Andrianjafitrimo (Abanda)
• [30] David Ferrer vs. Donald Young (Ferrer)
• Veronica Cepede Royg vs. Lucie Safarova (Safarova)
• Ons Jabeur  vs. Ana Bogdan (Bogdan)
• Joao Sousa vs. Janko Tipsarevic (Sousa)
• Feliciano Lopez vs. Bjorn Fratangelo (Lopez)

Preview

Some have questioned Roland Garros' decision to stage Nadal's first match of the 2017 French Open on Suzanne-Lenglen Court as opposed to Philippe-Chatrier, but whatever the location, his test against Paire will be a fierce one.

It was only last month the Frenchman made it to the last four of the Grand Prix Hassan II, and tennis writer Nick Nemeroff recently alluded to the potential Paire poses in staging a first-round shock:

"

Benoit Paire is a very interesting opening match for Nadal. He's got the home crowd and a backhand that can stand up to Nadal's forehand.

— Nick Nemeroff (@NNemeroff) May 27, 2017"

Nadal's advantage is the form he's displayed in 2017, particularly on his favoured clay surface. The nine-time French Open champion should advance, but it will be no easy duel.

Muguruza is another Spaniard in for a difficult arrival when she takes on 2010 winner Schiavone on Philippe-Chatrier, and WTA Insider attested to the tough road she faces even if she manages to advance to the second round:

"

Tough early road for Garbiñe Muguruza’s title defense. 1st four matches could be:

Schiavone
Kontaveit
Putintseva
Mladenovic#RG17

— WTA Insider (@WTA_insider) May 26, 2017"

Muguruza's edge in stamina will be of special importance against her 36-year-old foe, and a more drawn-out affair could in fact play to her favour.

Away from the big guns, one dark horse to keep an eye on in the men's singles is Alexander Zverev, the 20-year-old German taking the world by storm, who most recently beat Djokovic 6-4, 6-3 in the Rome Masters final:

"

Alexander #Zverev produced several milestone moments w/his win in the @InteBNLdItalia final. Read: https://t.co/oj9viOwSvY #ATPMasters1000 pic.twitter.com/wTFpzB4iju

— ATP World Tour (@ATPWorldTour) May 21, 2017"

He takes on Fernando Verdasco in what will be an immediate test of his credentials. It wouldn't be a shock to see Zverev go on a tear in Paris.