<
        >

          ICYMI at French Open: And Bernard Tomic's first-round opponent is ...

          It's OK, Bernard. You'll find out soon enough who your first-round foe will be at the French Open. EPA/JULIAN SMITH AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

          PARIS -- So here's how the story goes.

          Early Sunday, Nick Kyrgios announced he was withdrawing from the French Open because of an ongoing elbow injury that has sidelined him for the better part of two months.

          Too bad, because he had a compelling first-round match against fellow Aussie Bernard Tomic.

          With Kyrgios out, the tournament awarded lucky loser Prajnesh Gunneswaran of India -- the 183rd-ranked player in the world -- Kyrgios' position in the bracket.

          But ... not so fast. After losing in qualifying here in Paris, Gunneswaran committed to playing in a challenger event in Vicenza, Italy, according to Ben Rothenberg of The New York Times. And the rules, crazy enough, say one cannot play in two tournaments at the same time -- especially when they're in different countries and all.

          So out with Gunneswaran and in with his replacement, Marco Trungelliti of Argentina. Good for him -- except that he is currently in Barcelona, and the French Tennis Federation scheduled his match for 11 a.m. Monday.

          Gulp.

          But Trungelliti was not going to let a nine-hour car ride to Paris -- with his younger brother, mother and grandmother -- come in between him and a possible shot at Roland Garros glory. (You may also be wondering, "Why doesn't he just fly to Paris?" Good question.)

          After all that drama, Tomic finally got his opponent -- or did he?

          Turns out Gunneswaran might be the guy after all. Rule 7.06 in the ATP handbook states a tournament supervisor, if he or she is cool enough, has the authority to release a player from one draw to allow the competitor to play in another tournament.

          Oh, boy.

          Was the tourney supervisor willing to give Gunneswaran a hall pass to play at Roland Garros? Is Trungelliti going to have to turn around and head back to Barcelona? Does Tomic know what's going on? Does Tomic care? Does Tomic like tennis? Why is bread square and sandwich meat round?!?!

          Bueller!

          Tune in at 11 a.m. local time Monday to see how this drama unfolds.

          It's OK to be the loser, as long as you are a lucky loser. Including Gunneswaran or Trungelliti, eight lucky losers have made the main draw at this year's French Open because of injuries to other players. To put that in context, that's the most lucky losers to play in Paris since the start of the Open era in 1968. Kind of crazy, no?

          Mohamed Safwat was one of them. On Sunday, he became the first Egyptian man to compete in a Grand Slam singles match since Tamer El Sawy way back at the 1996 US Open.

          Not surprisingly, Safwat didn't last long. He had the unfortunate task of playing Grigor Dimitrov, the world No. 4, who won in straight sets.

          Check out this blister on Kateryna Kozlova's left heel. Straight-up nasty, right?

          But that did not stop Kozlova from producing a major upset in the opening round of the French Open, as she beat defending champ Jelena Ostapenko. This coming only months after Kozlova tore cartilage in her knee at Indian Wells.

          What does it mean? Here's what ESPN Stats & Info had to say:

          Good to see Ana Ivanovic working hard. Perhaps not on the tennis court anymore, but in the fitness room. Hard to believe, but this marks the 10-year anniversary since she won her only major title, the 2008 French Open, a win that simultaneously catapulted her to world No. 1. Ivanovic spent 12 weeks in the top position but never again reached a major final.

          World No. 1 Simona Halep has a couple of more days until she has to get down to business, but for now, it's all about having fun. Halep is a two-time Grand Slam runner-up but has yet to hold the big trophy.

          Ah, look. It's the Big Four when they were the little four.