Up-and-coming stars Nick Kyrgios and Dominic Thiem will kick off their French Open campaigns on Monday. They are set for respective openers against Denis Istomin and Aljaz Bedene.

Denis Istomin vs. (29) Nick Kyrgios

Kyrgios and Istomin will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they collide in round one of the French Open on Monday. Their only previous clash came last season during Davis Group playoff action, with Kyrgios capitalizing on home-court advantage in Australia to prevail on grass 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.

The 20-year-old will be a considerable favorite yet again despite having dealt with back, foot, and elbow problems this season. He retired from a match last week in Nice, but that was in all likelihood a precautionary move. After all, Kyrgios has always been all about the biggest stages of tennis. The world No. 30 is 12-8 this year, while his opponent is…