Expect sweltering heat, dust-coated shoes and a whole lot of style as the tennis season heads to Paris

2018 Roland-Garros French Open, from Monday 28 May, on ITV/HD (CH 113/103) and Eurosport 1/HD (CH 523/521)

Ace action! Ace stars! Ace entertainment! It’s finally time for the second Grand Slam of the tennis season, with the action arriving at Roland-Garros for the French Open until 10 June. C’est magnifique!

As always, the pressure will be on the defending champions to match their achievements from last year. With ten titles in his past 13 years of playing at the tournament, it’s difficult to imagine Rafael Nadal (below) leaving Paris without another French Open crown. However, looking at the field he’s up against, there’s every chance that it may prove to be his toughest title defence yet…

German youngster Alexander Zverev has played his way impressively into third place in the world rankings this year, while former French Open champions Stan Wawrinka and Novak Djokovic will be looking to forget their shaky starts to the season and ruffle Rafa’s feathers. And let’s not forget Juan Martin Del Potro. Now up to sixth in the world, the vertiginous Argentine looks back to his powerful best.

Meanwhile, the women’s draw is one of the most open we’ve seen in years. Jelena Ostapenko (above) caused a major shock 12 months ago when she walked home with the title, but the 20-year-old Latvian will be up against it in the form of world number one Simona Halep. After losing to Ostapenko in last year’s final and missing out to Caroline Wozniacki in the 2018 Australian Open final, the Romanian has much to prove.

Add the likes of Wozniacki, 2016 winner Garbiñe Muguruza and top-ten stars Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Venus Williams into the mix and you’ve got a fiercely competitive tournament that will have no shortage of drama.