Day 3: Three things to look out for

With all the camera lenses focused on the top half of the draw, last year’s finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas begins his Roland-Garros campaign under the radar and under the lights on Tuesday.

Here are three things to look out for as first-round action continues in Paris.

Tsonga's farewell tournament begins

Get the popcorn ready for this one — and then grab a few tissues.

French legend Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who announced that his beloved Roland-Garros would be the final tournament of his storied 18-year career, will take the court on Philippe-Chatrier for possibly the final time against No.8 seed Casper Ruud.

It will be a tough task for the 37-year-old, who peaked at world No.5 and reached the 2008 Australian Open final but frequently found his entertaining and powerful game hampered by injury.

He’ll be up against Ruud for the first time, but the 23-year-old Norwegian won’t be an unfamiliar name.

Ruud is coming off of a successful title defence in Geneva, where he lifted his second clay-court trophy of the year, and he’ll be eager to keep the momentum going.

But no matter the result, a Tsonga match on Court Philippe-Chatrier always makes for must-see viewing.

“I know it will be a tough game ahead. I'm happy to be able to experience this and whatever happens, it will be a celebration for me," Tsonga said.

He won’t be the only French great gearing up for an emotional farewell: Gilles Simon, who will retire at the end of the year, faces Pablo Carreno Busta last on Court Simonne-Mathieu.

Generational clash on Simonne-Mathieu

Also on Court Simonne-Mathieu, former world No.1 Simona Halep makes her return to the terre battue for the first time in two years.

Seeded 19th, the Romanian has been working her way back after suffering a calf injury last year that sidelined her for long stretches and even left her pondering retirement.

The 30-year-old fell out of the top 10 rankings and later wed her long-term partner. But while her commitment to tennis was always there, she recently admitted that the self-confidence to launch a comeback wasn’t.

“I had the biggest injury of my career, and I didn’t know how to manage it at the start,” she told CNN in a revealing pre-tournament interview. “I was scared and had low confidence because I felt my body didn’t hold anymore.”

Add into the mix a year’s worth of tournament ‘bubbles’ and the constant stress of world events, and Halep’s mental health was affected, too: “I really suffered and I didn’t see any light outside of the tunnel.”

But now back to full health and with new coach Patrick Mouratoglou at her side, Halep is motivated to climb back up the rankings; and what better place than Roland-Garros, where she lifted her first Grand Slam trophy in 2018 and won as a junior in 2008?

She’ll be up against German lucky loser Nastasja Schunk for the first time, as the 18-year-old makes her Grand Slam debut. Schunk, who is playing in her third tour-level main draw of the year, is ranked No.165 and won two matches in qualifying before bowing out to Hailey Baptiste.

Can Stefanos steal the show under the lights?

While the tennis draw gods can be famously fickle, Tsitsipas seems to have garnered their favour this year.

The No.4 seed landed in the wide-open bottom half of the draw — far away from the much-hyped Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz — which features a clay-averse Daniil Medvedev returning from hernia surgery and Alexander Zverev, whom he defeated twice in three meetings on clay this season.

Last year’s finalist says he is leaving the past firmly in the rear window, including his painful defeat from two-sets-to-love up to Djokovic in the final.

“Nothing went through my mind,” Tsitsipas said after his first practice session on centre court. “No flashback of that match, which is a good thing. I'm starting fresh.”

That can spell danger for 20-year-old Lorenzo Musetti when the pair meet under the lights during the Court Philippe-Chatrier night session. Tsitsipas won both times they played last year, including a three-set win in Lyon on French soil.