French Open: Kristina Mladenovic embracing expectations

Little known outside of tennis circles, the 24-year-old has thrust herself into the spotlight with her results in 2017 and is more than happy to be there.

Mladenovic is not short on confidence, which will come in very handy as she carries the hopes of an expectant France, awaiting its first singles champion at Roland Garros since Mary Pierce in 2000.

Outspoken on the return of Maria Sharapova among many issues, Mladenovic put her money where her mouth is, ending the Russian's comeback tournament with victory in the semi-finals in Stuttgart – one of four WTA finals she has reached this year.

Mladenovic knows expectations are higher but feels well equipped to deal with it, saying: "It's not the first time I'm here at Roland Garros. I'm French, it's a French tournament. I want to go as deep as I can.

"I don't want to disappoint anybody. This is some type of pressure I have always felt. It's here again. What's interesting, I feel that all over the world people now are talking about me. They are saying, Why not her? And that's a change.

"This is a grand slam. It's a long, long road. My intention is that I want my foundations to be solid. If I can play my best tennis, I have quite a lot of confidence and I know that I could be the girl to beat."

Pierce knows all too well what Mladenovic is about to face. She won Roland Garros on her 11th appearance at the age of 25, also reaching the final in 1994 and 2005.

Pierce, who is working for Eurosport during the tournament, said: "I've always liked Kristina Mladenovic. I'm not surprised at the results that she's having. I was hoping she would have these type of results sooner in her career because I know she's got the potential.

"I saw her training as a young girl and I thought mentally she had something and I always liked her attitude on the court, I liked her fighting spirit, her gutsiness and how she was aggressive.

"Of course she's going in with a lot of confidence. She know what she needs to do to play her best tennis, she's worked very hard physically and that's made a big difference.

"But there's always something different when you come to play a grand slam, there's more stress, and especially playing Roland Garros. Your home grand slam, there's even more attention on you, more pressure, and that is the hardest thing to deal with.

"It took me years to be able to play relaxed and my best tennis at the French Open. France is very patriotic – you win, the people win, you lose, they lose. It's the Latin blood. They're very emotional, they're very involved and passionate about it.

"The crowd's definitely going to be behind her and I hope she can play well because you live some of your most amazing, unforgettable experiences here as a French player."

With Serena Williams sitting out the tournament on maternity leave, trying to pick the winner of the women's tournament feels like the proverbial needle in a haystack.

Fourth-ranked Simona Halep goes in as favourite but is struggling with an ankle injury. Like her fellow world number one Andy Murray, Angelique Kerber has been woefully out of form, while defending champion Garbine Muguruza has not made the final of a single event since leaving here last year.

The likes of Elina Svitolina, Svetlana Kuznetsova and 36-year-old Venus Williams will all fancy their chances, and it would not be a surprise if the winner is a real dark horse.

Kerber's tournament could be over as early as Sunday, with the top seed looking to avoid a second consecutive first-round defeat in Paris when she faces tricky Russian Ekaterina Makarova.

Williams also begins her campaign on the opening day against China's Wang Qiang while all eyes will be on an emotional return to tennis for Petra Kvitova first up against Julia Boserup on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Watch the French Open LIVE on Eurosport and Eurosport Player.