Ivanovic and Murray look to shine on Sunday

Ana Ivanovic may be enamoured with Paris, but it will take more than her love of the city and sweet memories of her 2008 success to earn her a second straight title.

The eighth-seeded Serb will open play on Philippe Chatrier court against battling Italian Sara Errani on Sunday – certainly a winnable match for the multi-talented 21-year-old, but no walk in the park. Ivanovic has yet to win a title this year and has been struggling with her confidence.

There are 32 matches on the board for the first Sunday, with some big names on the slate, including British hopeful and world No3 Andy Murray facing Argentine veteran Juan Ignacio Chela on Suzanne Lenglen, No7 seed Gilles Simon of France taking on American lefty Wayne Odesnik on Chatrier as well as appearances by soon-to-retire crowd favourite Marat Safin of Russia, as well as Spain’s “other” left-hander, No8 seed Fernando Verdasco.

Ivanovic in Safina’s quarter
Ivanovic, who was forced to pull out of a WTA Premier event in Madrid two weeks ago, has played only two matches on clay this season, but claims to be fairly healthy. “As a player, I think I’ve changed,” the No8 seed said. “I'm more mature. Comparing my game to last year, it's improved. There are some areas that I’ve added to and I feel really confident on the court. I have a very good opportunity to do well again here, and I love playing here on clay.” Ivanovic is in other main seed in Dinara Safina’s quarter, the woman whom she bested in last year’s final.

Murray meanwhile, who reached the semi-finals in Monte Carlo and Madrid, trained on clay as a junior during his time in Spain but is fully aware that that he will have to be more patient and grind out results if he is to have success on this, the slowest of surfaces.

"I know I have to play well if I want to go deep into the tournament,” said the Scotsman, who finds himself in four-time defending champion Rafael Nadal’s side of the draw. “I can come through matches (on grass and hard courts) when I'm not necessarily playing my best, whereas on clay I have to play tough tennis from the start and play my best to win.”

Two double Slam winners in action
Though two-time Grand Slam champion Safin has not shown his best form this year, the No20 seed should have more than enough take on French wild card Alexandre Sidorenko. Australian Lleyton Hewitt, who also has two majors to his name, will go up against serving demon Ivo Karlovic, while Spanish No14 seed David Ferrer and Croatian hotshot Marin Cilic will also be in action.

French favourite Amélie Mauresmo faces a stern test in her first round match against hard-hitting German Anna-Lena Groenefeld, particularly since the former world No1 and Australian Open and Wimbledon winner has never shone here in Paris at the “home” tournament. Russian veteran Nadia Petrova, who could face former No. 1 Maria Sharapova in the second round, will take on resourceful American teenager Lauren Embree, while Belarusian Victoria Azarenka, who stunned 2002 Roland Garros champion Serena Williams in the recent Miami final, will confront Italy's Roberta Vinci. Along with Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki, No9 seed Azarenka is considered one of the young dark horses with a shot at winning their first major.