French Open 2016
Stanislas Wawrinka and Serena Williams will be looking to defend their 2015 French Open titles when the 2016 edition begins on Sunday Getty

The second Grand Slam of the 2016 season is upon us as the players take to the red clay courts at the Stade de Roland Garros. Novak Djokovic will start as favourite to complete a career Grand Slam after a stellar season thus far, but the return to form of Rafael Nadal and the threat of Stanislas Wawrinka is not to be ignored.

Roger Federer withdrew his entry after failing to recover from a back injury he sustained ahead of the Mutua Madrid Open in the beginning of May.

The men's and women's singles draws took place on Friday (20 May) and with Federer's withdrawal, Nadal was moved up to 4<sup>th seed, which will see him on a collision course with Djokovic in the semi-finals if they win their respective matches up to that point.

On the women's singles front, Serena Williams returns as the top seed and defending champion. The World No 1 won her first title in over seven months when she claimed the Rome Masters title leading up to the French Open. Williams will be the favourite, but will face some tough competitors in Victoria Azarenka, Angelique Kerber and Garbine Muguruza.

Maria Sharapova, the 2014 French Open champion, is the biggest casualty after the Russian failed a drug test and is currently awaiting decision on the length of her ban.

IBTimes UK takes a look at the top five seeds in the men's and women's singles competition and their first round matches.

Where to Watch Live

The tournament starts at 9.30am BSTfrom 22 May to 5 June, with British Eurosport, British Eurosport HD and ITV 4 providing live coverage in the UK. Regular updates and live scores are also available on the Roland Garros official website.

Men's Singles

Seed - Player

1 Novak Djokovic vs Yen-Hsun Lu

2 Andy Murray vs Radek Stepanek

3 Stan Wawrinka vs Lucas Rosol

4 Rafael Nadal vs Sam Groth

5 Kei Nishikori vs Simone Bollelli

Women's Singles

Seed - Player

1 Serena Williams vs M Rybarikova

2 A Radwanska vs B Jovanovski

3 A Kerber vs K Bertens

4 G Muguruza vs AK Schmiedlova

5 V Azarenka vs K Knapp