Kevin, Scheepers fly SA flag

Cape Town - South Africa's slim hopes of French Open singles glory will rest on the country's top-ranked men's and women's players when the Grand Slam tournament begins at Roland Garros on Sunday.

With Chanel Simmonds eliminated in the qualifying rounds, Kevin Anderson and Chanelle Scheepers will be the only two SA players in the main singles draw.

Anderson, the No 23 seed, will face Illya Marchenko of the Ukraine, who sneaked in as a lucky loser, in the first round of the men's competition.

Scheepers squares up against Mathilde Johansson of France, who reached the third round of last year's French Open, in the first round of the women's draw.

Simmonds lost in straight sets to Paula Kania of Poland in the first round of women's singles qualifying.