Three to See on TC Plus: Serena's long-awaited return is finally here

Before each day's play begins in Paris, we'll preview three must-see matches that you'll find on Tennis Channel Plus. Tennis Channel Plus features up to 10 courts of live action from Roland Garros beginning Sunday, May 27 at 5:00am ET. Catch up and watch all your favorite stars anytime, on-demand, with Tennis Channel Plus.

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It took 17 months, and three days in Paris, but Serena is finally scheduled to make her long-awaited return to the only tennis that matters to her, Grand Slam tennis. It may be hard to remember now, but the last time she played at a major was against her sister in the 2017 Australian Open final. So far in 2018, Serena is 2-2, and she hasn’t competed at all since losing in straight sets to Naomi Osaka in Miami nearly two months ago. How ready will she be for the French Open, the Slam that she has “only” won three times? She’ll be rusty, and all things being equal, its more likely that she’ll make her first deep run at her next major, Wimbledon.

As far as draws go, for an unseeded player, Serena’s could have been better, and could have been worse. Pliskova—the left-handed, less-accomplished one—is ranked just 62nd, but she obviously has tennis talent in her genes. She has also played a lot more clay-court tennis this spring than Serena; in her last 10 matches, Pliskova is a respectable 7-3. She and Serena have never faced each other, but when it comes to first-round matches at majors, even with a thick coat of rust, I’ll take the American. Winner: S. Williams

Racquet Bracket—Tennis Channel discusses Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams at RG:

How many times have two former champions at a particular Grand Slam met in the first round of that particular Grand Slam? This opener will pit the 2009 and 2016 winners against each other in what’s sure to be an athletic slugfest—the slugging will come from Muguruza, and the athleticism from Kuznetsova.

As is often the case in modern tennis, the slugger has had the advantage in this match-up: Muguruza is 5-1 against Kuznetsova, which includes a 3-0 record in 2017. Each woman has had a patchy spring, and neither has been past the quarterfinals at any of the French Open warm-up events. But along with dominating their head to head, Muguruza is the younger player, the higher-ranked player, and the more recent Roland Garros champion. It should be close, but she should win. Winner: Muguruza

Both of these women reached the final of their last event. While Halep lost to Elina Svitolina in Rome, Riske’s surprise run in Nuremberg was ended by Johanna Larsson. That may be all that the world’s No. 1-ranked and 70th-ranked women have in common, but it may be enough to make this a tricky encounter for Halep. She’s 2-0 against Riske, but the American took a set from her last fall. Most concerning for Halep could be the back injury she seemed to suffer in the Rome final. We’ll see if it has lingered, and if Riske has the confidence to take advantage of it. Winner: Halep

—Tennis Channel Plus features up to 10 courts of live action from Roland Garros beginning Sunday, May 27 at 5:00am ET.

—Catch up and watch all your favorite stars anytime on-demand with Tennis Channel Plus.