When a major approaches, the talk tends to center on the favorites.  Those are the players one can reasonably expect to perform well.  There is rarely a lot of chatter about the guys who are struggling with their form.  Sometimes, however, all it takes is that struggling player to suddenly catch fire at a major to turn around his whole season.  That is what Tomas Berdych and Vasek Pospisil will be looking to do when they square off in the opening round of Roland Garros.

Mainstream fans are familiar with Berdych.  The Czech is frequently listed among the most talented players to have never won a major, but he has been close.  He made the final of Wimbledon in 2010, and he has multiple major semifinal and quarterfinal appearances under his belt as well.  He has been a mainstay in the world's top 10, and he has shown himself capable of defeating anybody on any given day.  Unfortunately for him, he has not looked his best of late.

Of course, Berdych's opponent has not been playing at his optimum level either.  Pospisil also has not enjoyed nearly the same level of success in singles play as the Czech either.  He has particularly struggled this season, as evidenced by the scant four victories he accumulated before arriving in Paris.  All that said, the Canadian is a former top-25 talent, who has proven himself against higher-ranked opposition in the past.  Furthermore, with his partner Jack Sock, he has tasted success at the majors in doubles.  It is just a matter of translating that success to his singles game.

In regards to their respective games, there is not necessarily much to choose between the two.  They are both aggressive baseliners looking to dictate play with their forehands and serves.  They each move exceptionally well for their height too.  Berdych is arguably more solid off the backhand wing than the Canadian, and he definitely possesses greater power from the ground.  Pospisil should be able to hold his own, however, and he is the more adept of the pair in the forecourt.  If he is wise, Pospisil should consistently look to move forward and put pressure on the Czech, who will be fully aware that he needs to come up with something good if he wants to get the better of the underdog.

In this particular match, constantly subjecting Berdych to pressure could cause the Czech to more easily and frequently crack as well.  The seventh seed has had a solid season thus far, but he has thrown in a number of lackluster performances.  He also arrived in Paris on a very low note, having lost to David Goffin 6-0, 6-0 in Rome.  Following the loss, he parted ways with coach Daniel Vallverdu, so both his team and his mental state are in a bit of disarray.  In addition to that, he has lost his only two prior meetings against the Canadian.  Berdych can take solace from the fact that he has more experience than Pospisil, and Pospisl has also played poorly this season.  He has yet to win a match on the dirt this year, and he has never advanced to the second round here in Paris.  Then again, there is always a first time for everything.

So will Pospisil finally book a berth in the second round of Roland Garros?  The potential for the upset is undoubtedly there.  He is catching Berdych at a low point, and his prior history with the Czech shows that he can get the job done.  But it is hard to bet against Berdych's greater experience and superior firepower, as well as the dismal record Pospisil has compiled at this tournament.  It could be close, but the edge has to go to Berdych.

Every tournament is an opportunity, and they do not come much bigger than the majors.  That is where legends are born.  It is where a legacy is made.  It is at the mahors where potential is realized and glory recaptured.  Eugenie Bouchard has yet to bag a major, but it was two years ago on those grandest of stages that she illustrated to the world her potential.  She is now looking to use this year's staging of Roland Garros as a springboard to return her on the path of promise, but she will first have to get by Germany's Laura Siegemund to do so.

To the casual observer, Bouchard would be the clear favorite.  She has been ranked as high as No. 5 in the world, and in 2014, she reached the semifinals or better at three of the four majors.  She has garnered many impressive wins in her young career and pushed the sport's greatest talents to the limit.  But as more regular tennis fans know, Bouchard fell victim to the proverbial “sophomore slump” in 2015.  She struggled to string together matches and watched as her ranking took a tumble.  She has looked better in 2016, however, reaching finals in Hobart and Kuala Lumpur.  She is making strides in the right direction and would desperately love to make a flying leap up the ladder with a good showing in Paris.

Siegemund has never enjoyed the same level of success as Bouchard.  In fact, the journeyman from Germany just qualified for the main singles draw of her first major last year at Wimbledon.  And yet, fans and Bouchard would be wise not to underestimate Siegemund's chances of advancing to the second round of her maiden Roland Garros.  She has more consistently begun to qualify and make headway at tour-level events, and she made the third round at this year's Australian Open.  It was last month in Stuttgart, though, where she made others take notice.  Siegemund came through the qualifying to reach the final, defeating the likes of Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci, and Agnieszka Radwanska along the way.    She backed it up with a round of 16 showing in Madrid and ought to be feeling good about her chances in Paris.

The German has a game that could trouble Bouchard.  Both women go after their shots, but Siegemund's seem to penetrate the court a little more.  She also possesses greater variety from both the baseline and forecourt, and thus she does a better job improvising when need be.  Bouchard is unquestionably superior at taking the ball on the rise, which she will have to do on a consistent basis to rob Siegemund of time, but that can be a tricky prospect.  The clay often produces irregular bounces, making it harder to accurately take the ball so early. 

It is imperative that Bouchard not allow herself to get discouraged if she has a few more mishits trying to take the ball early, since despite currently being the lower-ranked of the two, the pressure is squarely on her shoulders.  She has been in the upper echelons of the sport.  She wants to get back there, and people expect her to get back there.  By contrast, so much of this is now icing on the cake for Siegemund.  She has nothing to prove, has defeated higher-ranked and more accomplished opponents than the Canadian, and will be the one who has the luxury of swinging away freely.

When all is said and done, this will not be the most important result of Day 3 on the women's side, but it means something to both of these women, especially Bouchard.  She wants to get back on the path to winning sooner rather than later, and she would love nothing more than to start that journey in the French capital.  She definitely has a decent look at doing so, but the slight nod arguably has to go to Siegemund.  She has less pressure on her shoulders, and based on current form, she is the one positioned better to advance.