One player not expected to be joining such heavyweights was Slovak veteran Zuzana Kucova, who finally won a grand slam match after 12 years of trying.

CNN: Wild card Monfils takes center stage

After being off the tour for the last 18 months, Kucova is ranked 1, 152 in the world but made the first round after coming through qualifying.

CNN: Wild card Monfils takes center stage

Kucova will struggle to beat Monfils for local press coverage though after the wild card knocked out fifth seed Tomas Berdych in a five-set thriller, winning 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 to delight a partisan crowd.

CNN: Wild card Monfils takes center stage