Before each day of play at the French Open, we'll preview and predict three must-see matches. For full coverage of the season's second Slam, go to our tournament page.

The day begins in the Bullring with this match-up of hard-hitting baseliners. The fifth-seeded Nishikori is the obvious favorite over the 40th-ranked Kuznetsov, a talented Russian who has long promised more than he has delivered. But as far as second-rounders go, this one has potential, especially for on-site spectators. Both guys are aggressive shotmakers and take their two-handed backhands early; the ball should rocket around the circular arena nicely. To pull the upset, Kuznetsov will have to launch and land more than his normal share of those rockets. In their only meeting, six years ago in Eastbourne, he led by a set when Nishikori retired.

Winner: Nishikori

Balls will fly early in the Bullring, but bodies will be hurled across even more intimate Court 14. Sock and Brown are two of more audacious athletes and shotmakers on the ATP tour. Brown throws himself and his dreadlocks all over the court, and he has never met a stroke he couldn’t make just a little fancier than it needs to be. Sock is quick enough to backpedal himself into the side fence in pursuit of a forehand, and when he gets one, he rips it with more rotation than anyone this side of Rafael Nadal. This first meeting between the 25th-ranked American and the 116th-ranked German won’t be elegant, and it may not always make sense, but it could be fun.

Winner: Sock

Which of the high women’s seeds is going to be knocked off next? That’s the question many will be asking a day after No. 3 Angelique Kerber and No. 5 Victoria Azarenka made first-round exits at Roland Garros. Radwanska, the second seed, would seem to be a prime target. Clay, which doesn’t give her soft shots any extra pop, isn’t her favorite surface, and this isn’t her favorite Slam. The Pole has never been past the quarterfinals in Paris, and she was upset in the first and third rounds the last two years. Now Aga has to play Garcia, a skilled Frenchwoman ranked 40th in the world, in this intriguing, late-day, second-round encounter on Lenglen. Radwanska leads their head to head 2-1, but each time they’ve played it has gone three sets. Ironically, the fans may end up saving Aga: Garcia's career record in front of the home folks at Roland Garros is a dismal 3-5, and she lost in the first round there the last two years.

Winner: Radwanska