That’s all from us for today! I’ll leave you with Tumaini Carayol’s report on Aryna Sabalenka from Roland Garros.

Carreño beats Comesana in a straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 win over on Court 13.

Cerundolo goes two sets up and is closing in on the Round One win. It’s a long way back for Michelsen.

Cerundolo puts together a string of great shots which are brilliantly returned by Michelson who is really hanging on to go level. The 26-year-old puts himself in a great position to go within one point of the set win but fires his return into the net.

Marozsan leads Nardi 5-2 in the opening set on Court 8. He is now looking to close this one out.

Thanks Daniel! Tiafoe takes the first set 6-4 against Safiullin with a clever volley. Meanwhile, Cerundulo leads Michelsen 4-2 in the second.

As for Significantly-Sized Foe, he leads Safiullin 4-3 with a break, while Musetti leads Hanfmann 7-5 1-2. Otherwise, though, that’s it from me; here’s Emilia Hawkins to guide you through the next little bit. À demain!

Doubles from Michelsen surrender his break and Cerundolo now leads 6-1 1-2 on serve.

Just in time, a look at Mr Matchy-Matchy. What are we calling this colour, then? It feels a little dark to be sky blue…

I take my eyes off Michelsen and of course he breaks, a set down but now 2-0 up on Cerundolo (Jean Manuel, not Facundo). I love how hard he competes, and fancy him to find a way in this match.

Tiafoe is playing nicely, up 3-2 on Safiullin and still with a break. I can’t, though, find a full-length snap of his rig; apologies, but hopefully soon.

Opelka, back from injury, has beaten Hijikata 1-6 6-3 7-5 7-6(3). Next for him, Mariano Navone, who will represent a sterner test.

Musetti, who made the last four of last year’s Wimbledon and won Olympic bronze, holds to take the first set against Hanfmann 7-5. His two tour titles both came on clay.

It’s taken a while, but Musetti has just broken Hanffman for 6-5 in the first, while Cerundolo has nabbed he first set off Michelsen 6-3.

Tiafoe – or Big Foe as his necklace describes him, I think because he’s big and has Foe in his name – was a fantastic junior. I remember Coach Calv telling me he’d seen someone brilliant and it was he, but he’s not developed as hoped. Though he’s got lots of talent, he struggles to string together good matches and clay isn’t his favourite surface; he has, though, improved his return in recent times and breaks Safiullin for 1-0.

Goodness me, Tiafoe is very matchy-matchy today. Photo as soon as I get it.

Hanfmann is a solid pro and, having come through qualifying, it’s no great surprise he’s giving Musetti aggravation, up 5-4 in the first. Earlier in the set, medics rushed on to court to help a woman screaming in agitation; hopefully she’s OK.

Cerundolo has broken Michelsen and leads 3-1 in the first; Hanfmann leads Musetti 4-3 in the first; leading Stefanini 6-4 5-4, Teichmann is serving for a second-round match against Sabalenka; and Carreno Busta leads Comesana 6-2 6-6 (2-1).

Next on Chatrier: Francis Tiafoe (15) v Roman Safiullin.

Mpetshi Perricard feels great to have won his first match at his home Slam and thanks for crowd for supporting him. He seems a really nice lad and plans to sleep for the next two days in order to recover from a tough match. I’m not sure he can go deep on clay, but he can certainly cause damage and perpetrate entertainment.

Bergs slices wide and, at 2-1 5-4, Mpetshi Perricard has match point…

Opelka, taking a pause from making America great again, has won the third set 7-5 to lead Hijikata 2-1, while Shnaider leads Sobolieva 5-1

Musetti and Hanfmann are 2-2 in the first; Cerundolo holds to lead Michelsen 1-0.

A drop from Bergs makes 15-all, then a serve-drop-lob combo looks set to take Mpetshi Perricard to within two points of victory, only for him to make a mess of the third shot, facilitating the easy put-away. And when Bergs makes 15-40, the big Frenchman nets a simple forehand, and we’re back on serve in the third!

A forehand hooked long and Mpetshi Perricard breaks Bergs for 5-3 in the fourth! He’ll now serve for the match…

Michelsen, remember, beat Tsitsipas and Khachanov en route to the fourth round in Melbourne. Clay is far from his favourite surface and he’s playing an expert, but if he serves well he’ll be hard to beat.

Musetti and Hanfmann are underway on Chatrier and I’m watching that; I’ll also get on to Michelsen v Cerundolo when that begins.

I’ve been writing these blogs for over a decade now, and can’t believe it’s taken me this long to note how much Jim Courieay looks like Bastian Schweinsteiger.

After a break between sets, Mpetshi Perricard and Bergs are back under way, level at 1-1 in the third. Navone, meanwhile, is serving for the match against Nakashima at 2-1 5-2.

Navone is almost shot of Nakashima, up 2-1 4-2. His clay-court smarts have been a bit too much since Nakashima levelled the match at one set all.

Next on Mathieu: Diana Shnaider (11) v Anastasiia Sobolieva.

A top-spin forehand whip-cracked flat into the corner, and Mpetshi Perricard has set point at 6-5! A fault follows, so he moves wider, looking to give his forehand room … and a second fault means he won’t need to use it! From 0-5 down he takes the breaker 7-5 for 2-1, and Bergs will be mentally barfing up his soul!

Now then! At 5-3, Bergs perhaps goes a little safe, guiding a backhand volley to the forehand corner, but even then, Mpetshi Perricard’s winner is unexpected, a forehand cracked from the back, and seconds later it’s 5-5! Incredible scenes!

At 0-5, Mpetshi Perricard thunders down an ace that’s harder than Geoff Horsfield, then adds another. He couldn’t, could he?

A lovely, disguised drop gives Bergs an immediate mini-break, then Mpetshi Perricard directs a stretch-volley into the cord and will it drop … no. The Belgian leads 3-0 … 4-0!

A mahoosive serve down the T makes it 1-1 6-6, and Mpetshi Perricard has earned a breaker to settle his third set against Bergs. I guess I’d back him in it because he’s got the biggest serve, but the margins are slim.

Next on Chatrier: Musetti (8) v Hanfmann (Q),

Reilly Opelka might be settling on the clay. He’s serving to level his match against Rinky Hijikata at a set apiece, while Navone has taken the third off Nakashima 6-1 and Paul leads Moller 2-1 3-0.

From 0-30, Zheng makes 30-all, then Pavlyuchenkova nets and the no 8 seed has match point…

Oh dear, oh dear. With plenty of time to get nicely under an overhead, Pavlyuchenkova snatches at it, butchering long, and at 6-4 5-3, Zheng will now serve for the match. The Russian just can’t sustain her best stuff.

Again, Pavlyuchenkova breaks back, but can she hold? She wafts a forehand long at 40-30 then slaps another beyond the line; a big serve out wide saves her. And on Lenglen, we’re also playing a protracted game, Mpetshi Perricard looking to break at 1-1 4-4; Bergs does well to make deuce from advantage down.

Bergs breaks Mpetshi-Perricard back right away for 1-1 3-3, while Zheng re-breaks Pavlyuchenkova for 6-4 4-2. Here’s the latter enjoying the company of Sloane Stephens.

And here’s the rest of the ruckus:

We’re back out on Mathieu, Paul leading Moller 6-7 6-2 6-3, and on 14, Navone leads Nakashima 1-1 3-1. Pavlyuchenkova, meanwhile, isn’t going anywhere; she’s broken Zheng back and trails 4-6 2-3.

Mpetshi Perricard is enjoying himself now and Bergs is fading; a break that didn’t take all that much means the French favourite now leads 1-1 3-2 and his serve, raining down from 6”8 and a leap, is terrifying.

In comms, Chrissy notes that Zheng’s best shot is her backhand but the fore is on today too and, as I type, she makes advantage on the Pavlyuchenkova serve. Ouch, and a swat long from the back cedes the break, Zheng now up 6-4 3-1; the end looks imminent

Back on Chatrier, Zheng now leads Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 2-1 on serve and looks to have the bigger shots on the bigger points. She’s got a sleeve on her right arm but it doesn’t look to be giving her grief.

Good news: they’re cleaning up on Mathieu, and I hope we’ll soon be back playing there and on the other outside courts. Sun is peeping through.

Yet more sport for your delectation!

Meantime on Lenglen, a second-serve ace secures a 6-3 set for Mpetshi Perricard, who is now level at 1-1 with Bergs.

A drop then backhand clean-up gives Zheng 5-4 0-30, meaning she’s two points away from 1-0, and when Pavlyuchenkova overhits, fractionally, the no 8 seed has two break points. Oh, and another ball sent wide means all the work she did fighting back from 1-4 was for nothing: Zheng breaks to secure a 6-4 set.

Back on Chatrier, Pavlyuchenkova has settled, breaking Zheng back for 4-4 in the first. Her body language looks much more confident now, and this is another match brewing into something excellent.

Mpetshi Perricard is forced to save two break-back points, but Bergs finds lovely forehand angle, leaping to drive cross-court into the corner for advantage. A service-winner follows, then Bergs nets a forehand having earned a fourth opportunity to regain the break; from there, Mpetshi Perricard serves out the consolidation, and this match is maturing into a really entertaining contest.

Mpetshi Perricard clobbers a forehand that Bergs can’t return, raising two break points; Bergs saves the first … and the second thanks to a ridiculous volley at net, a racket flung out to end the best rally I’ve seen so far today. So we’re back at deuce, but Mpetshi Perricard quickly earns advantage then pounces on a short approach to drill at Bergs’ tootsies, and he now trails 0-1 4-2.

There’ll be no play on Mathieu till at least 1.30pm BST. The rain doesn’t look too heavy.

We do, of course, have a roof on Chatrier and Lenglen, so we’ll stick with those matches. On the former, Zheng leads Pavlyuchenkova 4-1 while, on the latter, Bergs is up 6-4 2-3 on Mpetshi Perricard.

“That backand is gold,” coos Chrissy as Zheng, up 2-0 on Pavlyuchenkova, nails one down the line; praise indeed. Meantime, time looks up for Moller, Paul breaking him to secure a 6-3 second set and a 2-1 lead.

Nakashima did indeed level his match with Navone at 1-1 while, on Chtrier, we’re under way again. Pavlyuchenkova, unseeded for the first time in time, reached the final in 2021 and is a minging first-round draw for the Olympic champ – especially given the poor season she’s enduring.

Biggup!

Also going on:

Back on Mathieu, Paul has broken Moller for 1-1 3-2; that match now seems to be proceeding in predicted fashion. Otherwise, Bergs has taken the first set off Mpetshi Perricardf 6-4; Nakashima is serving for the second set against Navone, having lost the first; Hijikata leads Opelka 6-1; Medjedovic has beaten Majchrzak 6-3 6-3 7-6; and Fucsovics has beaten Schoolkate 6-4 6-2 6-2.

Next on Chatrier: Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Qinwen Zheng(8).

Sabalenka looked pretty nasty out there. It’ll take something decent to stop her ludicrous blend of power and touch, though there are easier third-round opponents than Danielle Collins should both make it through.

Sabalenka tells Marion Bartoli that she’s happy to be back in Paris and excited for the tournament; she wants to do well.

The first round is always difficult, especially when playing someone you like – Rakhimova is nice and a good friend.

She likes taking Polaroids of her life and is grateful for every moment – how much she enjoys being herself is equal parts moving and inspirational – and she plans to stick around to see the goodbye ceremony for Rafael Nadal, coming up once the day-sesh matches are done on Chatrier.

At 6-1 5-0, Sabalenka is serving for the match. She’s also got different coloured laces in her trainers, which I don’t totally understand: why not just get a funner colourway to begin with? We must be told.

Paul has taken over against Moller, four games on the spin giving him a 5-2 second-set lead. And, looking to level the match at 1-1, he begins with an ace then holds to 15; we’re back level and no 12 seed will be feeling much better.

They’re properly slogging on Court 14, where Navone leads Nakashima 7-6 2-2; I’ve actually stopped watching that one for a look at Mpetshi Perricard, who has one of the devastating serves I’ve ever seen. He’s not a clay-courter – his best Slam performance came at last year’s Wimbledon, where he made round four – but he’s dangerous on any surface and Calvin Betton, our resident expert and coach of Henry Patten, is a fan, Bergs, though, leads him 3-2 with a break.

Thinking more about Sabalenka, similar was so of Andy Murray. It was when he stopped losing to good players playing close to their best – the Verdascos of this world – that I knew he was ready to win Slams.

Back on Mathieu, Paul breaks Moller from 0-30 down, unfurling a succession of winners. Might this be the turning point? We shall see but, in the meantime, Moller leads 7-6 2-3.

It’s funny really. With most players, but Sabalenka in particular, we judge them according to how well they do in the biggest matches. But what’s just as telling is how they do in the ones we expect them to win easily, and the world no 1 hasn’t failed to make the last eight of a Slam since Roland Garros 2022. She breaks Rakhimova and now leads 6-1 2-0.

Sabalenka is far too good for Rakhimova, 16 winners helping her to a 6-1 first set. Elsewhere, Golubic leads Kvitova 3-2 in the third, on serve; Medjedovic now leads Majchrzak 6-3 6-3 1-1; and Fucsovics leads Schoolkate 6-4 4-1.

Next on Lenglen: Mpetshi Perricard (31) v Bergs.

All that effort to retrieve the late break, then Nakashima tosses the tiebreak 7-2; Navone leads by a set to love.

A forehand winner down the line and Moller is shaking fists! He leads Paul 7-6(5) and the no 12 seed is in a match!

A forehand winner gives Moller the mini-break and at 6-4 he soon has set point … only to net a backhand. Meantime, Sabalenka breaks Rakhimova at the first time of asking, then consolidates for 3-0.

Yup, a slightly wild forehand from Nakashima hands back a break he spent an hour seeking; at 6-6, he and Navone will now play a breaker, on which point Paul attacks a poor second serve to earn a mini-break against Moller. He leads 4-3.

Moller holds for 6-6 so he and Paul will now play a breaker; we said Navone and Nakashima could go long and that looks more than possible the former struggles to serve out the set with a 6-5 lead.

A shriek, a thump, and Sabalenka is away; Rakhimova quickly nails a forehand winner down the line. More importantly, though, what a we calling this colour? Cyan? and what on earth are those headphones? The top seed holds to 15 for 1-0.

It’s sunny now, the earlier drizzle gone. but Kvitova must wish the rain had come down harder – having won the first set, Golubic now leads her 5-0 in the second.

Elsewhere, Hamad Medjedovic is a set up on Kamil Majchrzak, and I think he could do something here – the highest-ranked seed in his section is Taylor Fritz.

Looking to serve out the first set, Moller finds himself at deuce, then a backhand error means Paul has advantage. Oh, and another backhand error, hooked wide, means we’re back on serve at 5-5; I fear the occasion got big on the young man there.

Sabalenka looks pretty calm and will soon be with us. I can’t wait to see how she goes here – though she has, over the last few years, become extremely adept at moving through week one, so we may not see her challenged for a while. Still, here she comes!

A comfy enough hold gives Moller 5-3 against Paul and he’s a game away from set one. I can’t say I’ve seen him play before, but his backhand is a shot. I’d expect the no 12 seed to grind him down over the stretch, but for now he’s doing nicely.

Sonmez isn’t long for this competition. Svitolina, another class mum, now leads her 6-0 2-0 and it’s incredible how she’s established herself as a second-week fixture since returning from giving birth. Her lack of heavy artillery might stop her beating the best on the big occasions, but she’s a much better player than I saw her becoming; can there be any better consloation?

Goodness me, Peyton Stearns, the 28 seed, is having one; Eva Lys has bagelled her in the first.

Kvitova has taken the fist set to lead Golubic 6-3; mums are class.

Tommy Paul looks to have made a step over the last year. He’s unlikely to seriously contend for a Slam, but has hit a groove – in Madrid the week before last, he beat Machac, De Minaur and Hurkacz, then took a 6-1 set off Sinner before losing the semi. Still, Moller consolidates for 4-2 … and it’s raining. Not hard enough for play to stop, but it does look to be getting worse.

Ah, Svitolina serves out for a 6-1 set; Sonmez is, I’m afraid, out of her depth. She’s seeded to meet Paolini in round four, which could be a terrific contest.

On Lenglen, Svitolina is serving for the first set, 5-1 up on Sonmez; on Mathieu, a fine backhand return, dipping cross, is too good for Paul, whose volley floats long, and that’s a break for Moller, the 21-year-old lucky loser, who leads 3-2 in the first.

On TNT, they’re talking about Sabalenka, who sounds full of it as she discusses her ambition to win on clay. Her Aussie Open defeat to Madison Keys will have stung her badly, though – earlier in her career she was the one who choked – and as soon as she’s put under serious pressure, we’ll see whether the wound has healed.

It’s pretty windy on court, and so far, that’s suiting Kvitova who, back from giving birth to her son, Petr. She leads Golubic 3-1 … ah, Golubic has just broken back. But still, what a joy to see her competing, all the more so as I’ve just discovered we share a birthday.

Looking around the courts, Svitolina leads Sonmez 3-0; Nakashima leads Navone 2-0; Paul and Moller are 1-1; Jvitova leads Golubic 2-1 on serve; and Lys leads Stearns 1-0 on serve.

And though she’s capable of it, the others will sense opportunity. Coco Gauff, seeded two, has to play really well to win, whereas Sabalenka can do so when not quite at it.

I’d also look out for a perennial favourite of this blog, Karolina Muchová: seeded 14, she is the best player in her section and has a seriously clever game. Oh, and don’t forget the eighth above, featuring Mirra Andreeva, Naomi Osaka and Paula Badosa – the latter two meet tomorrow in a match that could be the highlight of the first round.

We’re under way in our early matches so, as the opening games take shape, we might ponder who’ll be with us at the end. In the women’s competition, Iga Swiatek – seeking an unprecedented fourth consecutive crown – looks more vulnerable than ever before, without a title since winning this one last term. In her eighth of the draw is Elena Rybakina, she could face Paolini too, before a potential semi against Sabalenka and a final against Gauff. That’d be some effort.

There’s a decent row on Court 14 as Navone and Nakashima settle. This has the potential to be a properly long, nasty, hurtful tussle – let’s hope so!

Oh! The move from Eurosport to TNT seems to limit me to just three matches. What a world. I guess I’ll leave Stearns v Lys for the now.

So where shall we start today? We don’t get going on Chatrier, with Sabalenka v Rakhimova, for another hour or so, but there’s plenty to detain us prior to then. I’m going to watch Zeynep Sönmez v Elina Svitolina (13), Elmer Sønmez (L) v Tommy Paul (12), Mariano Navone v Brandon Nakashima (28) and Peyton Stearns (28) v Eva Lys.