French Open 2020: Replay TV Schedule, Live Stream for Wednesday's Draw

At this year's French Open, there are a couple of common problems for players, not including the unusual sight of empty stands at Roland-Garros.

The Wilson tennis balls being used this year are giving players quite a headache. Dan Evans, who lost to Kei Nishikori in the first round, lamented the change from Babolat balls to Wilson, saying some of them you "wouldn't give to a dog to chew," per CNN.com's George Ramsay.

Rafael Nadal, the wizard of the clay courts, isn't a fan, either. "The ball is completely different," he said last week, per Ramsay. "The ball is super slow and heavy. (There are) very cold, slow conditions."

Those cold, sometimes rainy conditions are also not going over well at an outdoor tournament that's normally played in the summer. Victoria Azarenka thinks the weather could be dangerous for players.

"Does it increase the risk of players getting injured? Absolutely, I think that it does. But what's going to happen, I don't know. I don't really want to think about it," she said, per News.com.au (h/t New York Post).

The new tennis balls and cold conditions are just two more difficult headwinds for tennis players in a year that's already been upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Strength, stamina and mental fortitude will be crucial to reaching the latter stages of the tournament.

Wednesday opened the second round of the men's and women's singles draw. Serena Williams withdrew because of injury, but Simona Halep, Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem were all in action. If you missed them playing live in the overnight hours, there's time to catch up before second-round play continues on Thursday. Here's how to watch.

French Open Wednesday Viewing Info

Live TV: Tennis Channel (5 a.m.-3 p.m. ET)

Live stream: TennisChannel.com

Replay Coverage: Tennis Channel (3 p.m.-1 a.m. ET)

Looking Ahead to Thursday

Michel Euler/Associated Press

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will look to continue his French Open run on Thursday against unseeded Ricardas Berankis. Djokovic made quick work of Mikael Ymer on Tuesday, winning 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. The 33-year-old Serb was in fine form and says he has already moved on from his shocking disqualification at the U.S. Open.

"I have not had any traces of New York in my mind. I'm over it. Honestly forgot about it. I'm not thinking about it," he said, per the Guardian's Kevin Mitchell.

Djokovic has won the French Open title just once in his career back in 2016. He lost to Thiem in the semifinals of last year's iteration.

Another interesting player to watch on Thursday is Stefanos Tsitsipas. The No. 5 seed looked like he might crash out of the tournament early after dropping the first two sets to Jaume Munar on Tuesday, but he rallied to win in a grueling five sets 4-6, 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. Tsitsipas will meet Pablo Cuevas in the second round. 

On the women's side, 2016 French Open winner Garbine Muguruza will continue her run against Kristyna Pliskova. After a couple of disappointing years at Grand Slams, Muguruza reached the final of the 2020 Australian Open, losing to Sofia Kenin. The 26-year-old Spaniard couldn't replicate that success at the U.S. Open, losing in the second round, but she did reach the semifinals of the clay-court Italian Open earlier this month. 

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

If the Italian Open is any indicator, then Kristyna's sister Karolina is another one to keep an eye on in the second round. Karolina Pliskova reached the Italian Open final, losing to Simona Halep in a walkover. She managed to beat Mayar Sherif in three sets on Tuesday in Paris, but she has a tough task ahead of her on Thursday in 2017 French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko.

Sloane Stephens is also in action on Thursday, playing Paula Badosa. Stephens, who reached the French Open final in 2018, looked to be in fine form in her first-round match against Vitalia Diatchenko, winning 6-2, 6-2.

Stephens is part of a strong U.S. contingent in Paris. She's one of eight American women to reach the second round. On the men's side, another eight players representing the stars and stripes made it to the round of 64. According to NBC Sports' Nick Zaccardi, that's the best start for American men at this tournament in 24 years. Most of them played on Wednesday, but Tennys Sandgren and Marcos Giron are set to take the court on Thursday.