Tennis fans got to see some of their heroes up close at a sunny Roland Garros on Saturday, as the final touches were put in place by organizers ahead of the 2022 French Open.

On what's often referred to as Children's Day, reigning champions Novak Djokovic and Barbora Krejcikova and several other top names got in a little demonstration practice, much to the enjoyment of the thousands of fans, young and old, who got to experience the French Open as it ought to be after two years of restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"We came here today for Children's Day and it was a perfect day to introduce professional tennis to my two daughters," said Axelle Lima, a tennis fan with two daughters. "It's a lot of fun and very well organized. And it feels great to get back to the real life again, to attend an event in real life with so many people. We just saw Djokovic so for the little ones, it was wonderful." 

"Find again that ambiance, people, the sunshine, it's really enjoyable… And the players as well, they are much more open. The past two years were really complicated to get near them and today you feel like it used to be… We're lucky we go every year and every year, it's always such a treat to come back to Roland Garros," said Charles and Camille Bouchain, brother and sister tennis fans.

The main draw begins on Sunday with opening-round matches for seeded players Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime, as well as two-time runner-up Dominic Thiem.

(With input from AP)