Roland Garros under a heatwave in Paris.

The French Open tennis tournament (Roland Garros) began amid a heatwave in the capital Paris today, Sunday.

Among the early matches on the first day on the tournament's clay courts was the match of the thirteenth seed Karen Khachanov against Arthur Gea on the Suzanne Lenglen court, and the match of the fifteenth seed Marta Kostyuk against Oksana Kalashnikova on the Simonne Mathieu court.

The temperature had already reached 26 degrees Celsius (79 Fahrenheit) when the matches started at 11 a.m. (9:00 GMT), and it was expected to rise to 31 degrees Celsius (88 Fahrenheit).

Spectators were folding newspapers and using fans to alleviate the heat, while players on the court sought to drink water.

The opening match on the Philippe Chatrier court, the main court, was scheduled to start an hour later, featuring the eleventh seed Belinda Bencic against Singa Kraus.

The evening match on the Chatrier court brings together three-time champion Novak Djokovic and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

After two days of turning 39 years old, Djokovic will compete in a new record at Grand Slam tournaments, as he will participate in his 82nd tournament, surpassing Roger Federer and Feliciano Lopez.