Keothavong to face world No.1 Safina at Roland Garros

ANNE Keothavong has a mountain to climb to reach the French Open second round, having drawn world number one Dinara Safina.

LUCK OF THE DRAW: Anne Keothavong draws world number one Dinara Safina in French Open first round (Getty Images)

Keothavong, ranked 56th in the world, will head to Roland Garros in good form and is still involved in the Warsaw Open, having reached the last four.

But she will be up against the top seed, who reached the final in Paris last year, before losing to Serbia's Ana Ivanovic.

Ivanovic, seeded eighth, will begin her campaign against 20-year-old Italian Sara Errani, while world number two and 2002 champion Serena Williams will begin her bid to return to the top of the world rankings against the Czech Republic's Klara Zakopalova.

Zakopalova is ranked 92nd in the world and on this stat alone Serena Williams should progress comfortably.

But the 2009 Australian Open champion has failed to reach the final in Paris since her victory seven years ago - and, as the comment (Richard, 12:57) notes below, Zakopalova actually won their last encounter, in the first round of the Andalucia Tennis Experience last month.

Venus Williams, seeded third, will begin her campaign against fellow American Bethanie Mattek-Sands.

Fourth seed Elena Dementieva of Russia is still awaiting the news of her opponent, as she will face a qualifier, but she could meet Australia's Jelena Dokic - who continues her comeback after an extended absence from the sport - in round two.

British number two Melanie South has enjoyed a more fortuitous draw than Keothavong - she will face a qualifier in the first round.

In the men's draw British No.1 Andy Murray will begin his assault in Paris against Argentina's Juan Ignacio Chela.