A marquee collision looms one round ahead for Victoria Azarenka, but she cannot look ahead too soon. Meanwhile, the most promising young talent from the U. S. meets one of the brightest European rising stars at Roland Garros.

Victoria Azarenka versus Lucie Hradecka

It is inevitable.  As soon as the draw for a Grand Slam event is released, analysts and fans immediately start to project potential future match-ups.  It is an entertaining and interesting exercise that always sparks plenty of discussion and debate.  The only problem is that sometimes these projections do not pan out. That is why the players, if they are wise, focus on strictly taking things one match at a time.  That is what Victoria Azarenka, the woman so many have already penciled in as the third-round opponent of Serena Williams, will need to do when she takes to the court against Lucie Hradecka.

While Azarenka cannot afford to allow herself to look too far ahead, it is easy to see why so many others already have her into the third round against Williams.  For starters, the Belarussian has appeared in multiple major finals and won two of them at the Australian Open.  The former No. 1 has also been to the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, and though her best results have come on the hard courts of Melbourne and New York, she is no slouch on the dirt either.  She was unable to play Roland Garros in 2014 due to injury, but she made the second week in Paris on her last three trips.  And finally, the sport is simply more intriguing with Azarenka back in the mix at the top.  A good run here would go a long way towards seeing her return to the upper echelons of the game.

Hradecka, presently ranked No. 61 and known more for her doubles prowess, has increasingly shown signs that she is capable of inflicting damage in the singles arena too.  Her play in recent months has been particularly encouraging.  She put together a semifinal run in Charleston and reached the final of Prague, and she fought her way through the qualifying at both of those events.  She may not be as decorated as Azarenka, but her chances in this contest cannot be overlooked.

Aside from her recent play, there are a few other reasons why people should not be too quick to dismiss Hradecka's chances in this match   Clay is the Czech's favorite surface, and she boasts more weight behind her groundstrokes than Azarenka.  Additionally, Hradecka is a very accomplished doubles player, who has a few major doubles titles under her belt, so she knows her way around the net.  No doubt she is more effective in the forecourt than Azarenka and can utilize those skills to keep the Belorussian off balance.  And while it is true that she has lost her only two meetings with Azarenka, Hradecka forced her to go to three sets on both of those occasions.

Rest assured, Azarenka will not be taking this second-round match lightly.  She remembers her past battles with the Czech, the most recent of which occurred a couple of weeks ago in Rome.  She will be well aware of Hradecka's strengths, but she will also know how to counter them and employ her own.  In addition to putting in a high percentage of first serves, Azarenka must look to do damage with her return and get Hradecka on defense early in the point.  Furthermore, she needs to keep mixing it up and recognize that sometimes it is best to simply play consistently and deep.  Hradecka may have more firepower, but she is generally the more erratic of the pair as well.  A solid and steady performance may be all that is required for victory if Hradecka is having a bad day at the office.

Of course, even if the Czech is playing well, Azarenka is still the favorite to garner the victory.  She has more experience and is the overall better player.  But if she is off her game, or Hradecka has her own firing on all cylinders, it would not be entirely a shock to see her spoil the party with an upset of the No. 27 seed.

Madison Keys versus Belinda Bencic

At the start of a major, as with any tournament, the ultimate goal of every entrant is to be the last player standing.  Obviously for 127 of the 128, that goal will not be realized.  Thankfully, there are secondary prizes up for grabs.  Among them are added experience on one of the biggest stages in the sport and valuable ranking points.  These items are of particular interest to newcomers looking to make their mark on the game, and both will be up for grabs when Madison Keys squares off against Belinda Bencic in the second round of Roland Garros.

There has been a fair bit of hype around Bencic and Keys as two of the more promising young guns in the sport right now.  Bencic is still a teenager and is currently at a career-high ranking of No. 35.  The Swiss made headlines last year when she reached the last eight in her US Open debut, defeating top-10 seeds Angelique Kerber and Jelena Jankovic on her journey there.  She just picked up her first WTA title by winning the doubles in Prague earlier this spring, and while her singles play on the clay this season has been uninspiring, there are many who believe she can still continue to make headway here in Paris.

There are many who are optimistic that Keys may also prove capable of continuing to build on her success by stringing together some matches in the French capital.  The American is ranked a career-high No. 16, thanks in large part to her 2015 Australian Open campaign, when she dismissed Petra Kvitova and Venus Williams on her way to the final four before bowing out to Serena Williams.  Her level of play since then has not quite been up to the level that it was in Melbourne, but having reached the finals of Charleston and putting forth a respectable quarterfinal finish in Strasbourg, she has placed herself in a good position to find success at Roland Garros.

The good news for Keys is that this match is primarily in her hands.  Bencic is a solid player, especially from the baseline, and she is the quicker of the duo moving around the court.  That said, Keys has the more developed and better overall game.  She is also arguably right up there with Williams and Kvitova in terms of possessing enough power that she can reduce her opponent to the role of spectator on the other side of the court.  Essentially, if Keys brings her A-game, it is hers to win or lose.

The ability of Keys and Bencic to employ their respective games will no doubt be affected by how they psychologically cope with the situation.  They have never met before, so there is bound to be a feeling out process as they probe for weaknesses in their opponent's game.    Both also know that they are in the weakest quarter of the draw, so whoever gets through this match is going to have a decent look at putting together a deep run.  The American has a little more experience and has already been to the semifinals of a major, but it could be Bencic, the underdog who is free to swing away, who turns out to be the one best equipped to come up with the goods when the chips are down.

In the end, this is a tight match to call.  These are two promising upstarts eager and hungry for success.  The fate of this match rests more in the hands of Keys, but they are both equally deserving victors capable of booking a place in the third round.