French Open 2019: Thursday Schedule and Predictions for Roland Garros Bracket

The top seeds in both the women's and men's draws are in second-round action at the 2019 French Open on Thursday.

Novak Djokovic takes on Henri Laaksonen as he continues his campaign to win a fourth Grand Slam in a row.

And Naomi Osaka, the reigning U.S. and Australian Open champion, faces two-time Grand Slam champion Victoria Azarenka.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams, a three-time winner at Roland Garros, is up against Japanese qualifier Kurumi Nara, and Simona Halep faces Magda Linette. 

Here is a selected schedule for the day's action (predicted winners in brackets), with play set to start at 11 a.m. BST (6 a.m. ET):

Men's Draw

Mikael Ymer vs. (5) Alexander Zverev (Zverev)

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Henri Laaksonen (Djokovic)

Yoshihito Nishioka vs. (8) Juan Martin del Potro (Del Potro)

(4) Dominic Thiem vs. Alexander Bublik (Thiem)

Women's Draw

Danielle Collins vs. (8) Ashleigh Barty (Collins)

(10) Serena Williams vs. Kurumi Nara (Williams)

(1) Naomi Osaka vs. Victoria Azarenka (Osaka)

(3) Simona Halep vs. Magda Linette (Halep)

For a look at the full schedule, visit RolandGarros.com.

Wednesday Preview              

Facing Djokovic is a daunting prospect for any player on any surface, and the 27-year-old Laaksonen will be a huge underdog on Thursday.

Djokovic may have lost in the final of the Italian Open to Rafael Nadal recently, but he triumphed at the Madrid Open the week before and looks unlikely to be upset in Paris.

The Serb is far from a guaranteed winner at Roland Garros in the second Grand Slam of the year, especially since Nadal is also looking in fine form.

But it would be a huge shock were he to fall to Laaksonen and exit the French Open in the first week for the first time since 2009.

Osaka, on the other hand, looks vulnerable after only narrowly surviving a tumultuous first round:

The 21-year-old may be the current world No. 1 and holder of two of the four Grand Slams, but she has never before got further than the third round in her previous three appearances at Roland Garros.

Azarenka, meanwhile, has made it as far as the semi-finals before in Paris, and she looked in fine form as she ousted 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko in the first round:

It may be early in the tournament, but Osaka's clash with the Belarusian could be one of the matches of this year's French Open, and it is a huge step for the Japanese star as she looks to win a third consecutive Grand Slam.

Serena is looking to win her 24th Grand Slam singles title and join Margaret Court at the head of the all-time list.

She suffered an injury in preparation, which forced her to pull out of the Italian Open, and then she dropped the first set of her French Open campaign before coming storming back:

Nara was impressive in downing Dalila Jakupovic in her first round match. But at world No. 238, it seems unlikely she will cause Serena many problems.