The 2020 French Open is all set to get underway on Sunday September 27, fourth months later than planned.

After skipping the 2020 US Open, Rafael Nadal will begin his quest to win his 13th French Open title & record-equalling 20th Grand Slam title. The Spaniard will face the 2020 Tata Open Maharashtra Singles finalist Egor Gerasimov in his round 1 clash.

The road to the final won't be easy for the 19-time major winner as he faces a potential quarter-final clash with the 2020 US Open finalist Alexander Zverev. Nadal has a strong head to head record (5:1) against the German, his only defeat came the last time they met at the ATP Finals in 2019.

Both Rafael Nadal & Dominic Thiem are in the same half of the draw & can face each other in the semi-final. Dominic Thiem will aim to win his first Roland Garros title after falling short in the final the last two years.

On the other hand, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has an easy route to the final. The Serbian is drawn in the same half as Daniil Medvedev and will face Mikael Ymer of Sweden in his Round 1 match.

After a disappointing exit from the 2020 US Open, the 2016 French Open Champion will again be a man on a mission. He has already shown great form as he went on to win the ATP Masters in Rome, his 36th, most by any player on the ATP Tour, surpassing Rafael Nadal's 35 ATP Masters titles.

Exciting Round 1 Encounters:

1) Stan Wawrinka vs Andy Murray

The clash of the 3 time Grand Slam champions will be the marquee first round match. The 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka will face the 2016 finalist & this year's wild card entrant Andy Murray.

This was a semifinal clash at the French Open in 2016 and 2017. They split their meetings then and it will be an intriguing first round clash this year.

2) Marin Cilic vs Dominic Thiem

In another cracker of a first round match, the two US Open Champions (Cilic in 2014 & Thiem in 2020) will face each other to make it to the Round 2 in Men's Singles.

The Austrian is fresh from winning his maiden Grand Slam title and is a clear favourite against Cilic but the lack of clay court practice can hurt him. While the Croatian looked in good touch at Rome Masters 2020.

Uphill task for two former Tata Open Maharashtra Champions

The 2018 Tata Open Maharashtra Champion Gilles Simon will face a tough challenge in Round 1 of the 2020 French Open. His opponent will be the 21-year old and latest top 10 entrant Denis Shapovalov. The Canadian reached the quarter-final of the 2020 US Open followed by a semifinal stint at Rome Masters. He's a special player and to go past him, the Frenchman has to come up with a Simon-Special on the match day.

The 2019 Tata Open Maharashtra Champion Kevin Anderson will start his 2020 French Open against Serbia's Laslo Djere in Round 1. The 6'8" has looked out of touch in his three previous ATP Tour events, losing all three in Round 1.

Indians in Men’s Doubles

Rohan Bopanna will partner with Denis Shapovalov at the Roland Garros 2020. The pair will face Jack Sock and Vasek Pospisil in Men’s Doubles Round 1. Divij Sharan, on the other hand, will pair up with Kwon Soon-woo and will go up against the sixteenth seeded Franko Skugor and Austin Krajicek. 

1000 fans a day

After new coronavirus restrictions imposed by the French government, the number of fans allowed into the French Open has been cut to 1000 per day.

Based on reports, around 35,000 fans usually attend Roland Garros every day in the first week of the tournament. The tournament had earlier planned to welcome 11,500 fans each day before they cut the numbers to 5,000.