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11:17 a.m.
Thwack, grunt, thwack.
Play is underway on Day 5 of the French Open, where 23 seeded players will be kicking up clay dust against lower-ranked opponents looking to upset the hierarchy.
The top seeds, Serena Williams for the women and Novak Djokovic among the men, are both in action in successive second-round matches on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The spotty form of defending men's champion Rafael Nadal will be closely scrutinized on the center court, Philippe Chatrier, against a player he has lost to just once in 13 encounters, Nicolas Almagro.
They should be out in a couple of hours from now, after the first center-court match pitting formerly top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, seeded fifth, against Julia Goerges of Germany.