French veteran Fabrice Santoro, playing his 67th grand slam before retiring at the end of the year, is set to steal the show from Serbs Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic at the French Open on Tuesday. The 36-year-old Santoro, dubbed the Magician due to his habit of mystifying opponents, starts his 20th Roland Garros campaign against Belgian Christophe Rochus on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
"He's very talented the way he touches the ball, hits the ball. He's one of the greatest tacticians in terms of his play," said Swiss second seed Roger Federer. "He is quite limited when he plays two-handed but he's always trying to fumble his way through. I've always enjoyed playing against him and watching his matches."
In-form Djokovic opens his Paris campaign against Ecuador's Nicolas Lapentti on Centre Court. The world number four follows fifth-seeded Jankovic who takes on Czech Petra Cetkovska. Second seed Serena Williams of the United States will be out to win her first match on clay this season against Czech Klara Zakopalova.