TO a complete lack of fanfare, the greatest player in the history of tennis prepares to take his bow at Roland Garros 2015.

Amid all the fevered speculation about Rafa Nadal's apparently faltering pursuit of his 10th title, Novak Djokovic's seemingly relentless efforts to get his hands on his first, and even Andy Murray's recent clay-court epiphany, the 17-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer has to fight for attention like never before.

This is a former French Open winner we are talking about, a man who has stumbled at the final hurdle a further four times. Only one man in history, again his nemesis Nadal, has won more matches here, by a slender margin of 66 to 61. The draw has kept Federer apart from those regarded as the three main contenders for the title. So while the 33-year-old from Basel was denying it, you can bet the snub was eating away at him.

"Well, it makes no big difference," said Federer, who went down 6-4, 6-3 to Djokovic in the Rome final. "I prepare for the tournament. I train. I have to talk to the press. So 99% remains the same. It really depends on where you put the focus.

"Novak gets a lot of attention. He's trying to win Roland Garros for the first time. He's been playing very, very, well. He's just been incredibly successful, and I think he really deserves the attention.

"Rafa, what can I say? He's an incredible player. You know, it took me eight years to get one win here. It took him 10 years to get nine victories. It's normal he should get so much attention."

Perhaps it reflects a belief that the Swiss can no longer outlast the likes of Djokovic, Murray or Nadal over five sets but Federer will be centre of attention when the tournament gets under way today. The French Open is the only Grand Slam where matches begin on the Sunday, with play in the bottom half of both the men's and women's draw set to take place.

He is second up on Philippe Chatrier and while his opponent, Alejandro Falla of Colombia, has lost all seven of their previous meetings, their first-round encounter at Wimbledon in 2010 was certainly a notable occasion. Falla was serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set before Federer recovered to win in five.

The world No 2 will be boosted by the return of Stefan Edberg in his corner, after the Swede missed the tour events in Madrid and Rome.

"I look back at 2009, winning that, as a motivation and something I love about coming back to Paris for," Federer said. "The atmosphere, the crowds, all that, the support I received back then, how nice it's been ever since. And of course all those finals I made before the win in 2009, great years for me as well here in Paris. I just came up a bit short against Rafa, but that happened to many players throughout that period. He's very difficult to beat."

Last year, professionally if not personally, wasn't one of Federer's great years. He crumbled in five sets to the eccentric Latvian Ernests Gulbis in the fourth round, but did at least have some consolation off the court.

"I remember I played great in Monaco; I had some OK moments here," he said. "And obviously I remember the birth of my boys. That was the most significant thing that happened by far, hands down, during the clay-court season last year."

Federer doesn't even top the bill today on Chatrier, an honour which falls to home favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's match with Christian Lindell of Sweden. Stan Wawrinka faces Marsel Ilhan of Turkey.