Nadal to face Marathon Man Isner in the 1st round

 Defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal begins his bid for a sixth title link to the record against man marathon John Isner.

Isner is an American ranked 39th and is known for having won the longest game in the history of tennis, 70-68 in the fifth set at Wimbledon last year.

Francesca Schiavone the Italy returns the ball to Ayumi Morita Japanese, during the quarter-final of the tournament of tennis Open in Brussels, Brussels, Thursday, May 19, 2011. Brussels, Thursday 19 May 2011. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) Close

Nadal quarterfinal opponent would be no. 5 Robin Soderling, the only man to beat Spanish at Roland Garros. Nadal is 38-1 to Open France; He lost against Soderling in the fourth round in 2009.

Other potential quarterfinals are no. 2 Novak Djokovic - who is this season to 37-0 - against No. 6 Tomas Berdych, 16 times major champion Roger Federer against No. 7 David Ferrer and no. 4 Andy Murray against 2009 semifinalist Jurgen Melzer.