Former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt, currently ranked 178th, has been granted a wildcard to enter the French Open main draw along with seven other players, tournament organisers said on Thursday.
Serena Williams needs to be creative and add variety to her game if the 39-year-old American wants to tame the current power-hitters on clay, seven-time Grand Slam singles winner Mats Wilander said ahead of this week's French Open.
Two former French Open champions produced easily the best women's match of the tournament so far.
Simona Halep has been in red-hot form and the absence of top-ranked Australian Ash Barty, who won her maiden Grand Slam in Paris last year, and US Open champion Naomi Osaka, will boost her chances further.
The cool days of late September, with damp courts expected, will level the playing field and for the first time, other than when Rafael Nadal has been injured, he looks vulnerable on his beloved clay.
Here are eight men to watch on the Roland Garros clay.
Andy Murray has been the standout performer on clay for the past 12 months but world number one Novak Djokovic will be favourite to complete his set of grand slams at this year's French Open. Murray, according to the ATP Performance Zone stats, has won 85 percent of his matches on the red dust this year and last, more than any other player. Having been at 70 percent for the first 10 years of his career, the improvement demonstrates just how at home the Briton now feels on a surface he once treated with suspicion. His victory over Djokovic in Sunday's Italian Open final may have been aided by his opponent's energy levels being drained after a gruelling semi-final win over Kei Nishikori the night before. But it also was a timely statement of intent from the world number two, who recently split with coach Amelie Mauresmo.
Garbine Muguruza roared into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-1 demolition job of Maria Sharapova on Wednesday.
American Bethanie Mattek-Sands and the Czech Republic's Lucie Safarova claimed their third consecutive grand slam doubles title with a convincing 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australian duo Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua at the French Open on Sunday.
Asked which thoughts, the world number two from Constanta said: "The only one, very tough thought is one set, 3-0 up, that I couldn't take that game.
Images from Day 9 of the French Open in Paris on Monday.
Indian tennis stars Sania Mirza and Leander Paes will battle it out for the French Open mixed doubles title with their respective partners, having won their semi-final matches on Thursday.
Teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev have both said they would not want their quarter-final, also on Tuesday, to be scheduled during the night session.
'Maria will look at it and see no one dominant. Serena Williams is the only player in the past who has been like a thorn in her side, but she feels mentally superior to most of the other and she feels she can win against them all'
A summary of Sunday's matches at the French Open.
Defending champion Coco Gauff put on a clinical performance to beat Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2 and eliminate the Italian as she registered her first win at the WTA Finals on Tuesday.
IMAGES from all the action on Day 8 of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
'Your results or your job or how much money you make doesn't define you as a person. As long as you love yourself, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.'
Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hughes Herbert became the third home duo to win the French Open men's doubles when they beat second seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic 6-2, 7-6(4) on Saturday.
Seeing the usually majestic Roger Federer down on his hands and knees -- literally -- is a rare sight in tennis but that turned out to be the least of his problems at the French Open on Sunday as he flirted with a last-16 exit.
Carrying her hardcourt success to the French Open and the Wimbledon was the 'biggest goal' going forward for Osaka.
Images from Day 11 of the 2021 French Open at Roland Garros in Paris on Wednesday.
Iga Swiatek, who beat American 13th seed Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in the Wimbledon final on Saturday to win her sixth Grand Slam title.
Rafael Nadal is hunting a record-extending and almost unbelievable 12th Roland Garros title is remarkable in itself.
The Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty shocked reigning World champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan to join P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal in the quarter-finals of the US $750,000 French Open, in Paris, on Thursday.
Roger Federer will make his only appearance on clay this season at Roland Garros, his agent said. The Swiss skipped the entire claycourt season in 2017 and 2018 and last year played only two tournaments on the surface before arriving in Paris for the French Open.
Roger Federer ended his French Open jinx when he swept past Swede Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 in the final to clinch his first Roland Garros title on Sunday.
Roger Federer clinched his first French Open title when he swept past Swede Robin Soderling 6-1, 7-6, 6-4 in the final on Sunday. The Swiss equalled Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles and became the sixth man to win all four major tournaments, sealing victory in just under two hours in cloudy conditions.
The left-handed Prajnesh, ranked 183, lost 3-6, 4-6 in the third and final round against the Swede, ranked 122 in the world.
Earlier, Pegula secured a breezy 6-2, 6-3 victory over the already-eliminated Jasmine Paolini and said she would work out a strategy for her next opponent despite knowing there was a slim chance of an exit if Gauff prevailed in three sets.
India would bank on its swashbuckling batting line-up when it takes on a gritty England in what promises to be an evenly-matched final of the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
Rafael Nadal made light work of fellow Spaniard David Ferrer to win a protest-interrupted French Open final 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 on Sunday and become the first man to win eight singles titles at the same tournament.
India's Somdev Devvarman and Sania Mirza have been handed tough draws in their respective singles at the French Open, starting Sunday. Somdev will face Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, while Sania has been drawn against Kristina Barrois of Germany.
The world number one crushed Serbia's Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 in the women's final.
Amitabh and Abhishek watch Fedex -- also known as the Greatest Tennis Player currently on the planet -- defeat Spaniard Tommy Robredo in the quarter-final and enter the semi-final of the Grand Slam event.
Despite all the trials and tribulations he suffered in the build-up, no one could prevent Nadal from lifting the Musketeers' Cup for a record-extending 14th time.
Images from Day 10 of the 2020 French Open, at Roland Garros, in Paris.
Bopanna was playing the US Open final for the second time in his career and this time as the oldest player at 43.
