The start of a slam is that glorious vortex of uncertainty into which spin champions and outsiders as equals until the final ball of the contest is struck – so the British players who are not Andy Murray have at least a couple of days in the Parisian sun.
Murray, who has genuine prospects of reaching the semi-finals after a grand run of 10 consecutive wins and two titles on clay, lines up with Kyle Edmund and new passport-holder Aljaz Bedene as the largest British contingent in the men’s draw since 2006. There are two players in the women’s tournament, Heather Watson and Johanna Konta – and, yet again, no Laura Robson, whose 17 months out with a wrist injury is turning into a worryingly long absence.