An ominous black cloud hangs over the grounds at Roland Garros as spectators muddle through ticket machines and bag searches at various entrances.
A dedicated team in 'the weather room' are busy working, planning and plotting what needs to be done should rain stop play.
Down in the bowels of Eurosport's production facility - one of at least a dozen companies with spots for the second slam of the year - discussions are well underway as to what will fill their coverage.
The French Open at Roland Garros is one of the biggest events on the tennis calendar
Eurosport invited Sportsmail behind the scenes to see how they put their coverage together
The espresso machine is whirring in harmony with the hoards of servers that ensure the channel has reliable output to 50 European territories.
With 246 million subscribers, the pressure is on to keep quality high with Roland Garros always at risk of no play, given the renovation of the grounds - which has seen the new Simonne-Mathieu court introduced this year - is yet to see a roof installed.
Many of the team are bi-lingual or even tri-lingual with the Germany, France and UK production offices a matter of feet away from each other.
The broadcaster produces 600 matches live across the tournament to 50 European territories
Staff are well-trained in operations in Paris with the channel in its 31st consecutive year on site
The corridors prove a tight squeeze given the influx of staff members popping in and out but there is a real buzz in the air ahead of the day's play.
It is 10am. Familiar faces on-screen such as three-time French Open champion Mats Wilander are yet to arrive; those behind-the-scenes are busy checking wires, camera batteries, graphics and ensuring all is well before coverage gets underway an hour or so before the opening serve.
There is an argument that television is almost like a circus - sets gets pieced together, taken apart and moved to another part of the world on a fairly regular basis.
Eurosport's team arrived a week in advance in Paris to get everything set up and with 15km of cables - that's 46 Eiffel towers piled on top of each other - it is by no means a swift process.
What is most notable as Sportsmail is given unprecedented access to the production suite is that the broadcaster's focus is on multi-platform content.
Pundits like Wilander, John McEnroe, Alex Corretja, Pat Cash and Annabel Croft see the need to embrace new technology and the advancements it is making for the coverage.
Cameras are stored away, recharged and checked for damage at the end of play each day
There is another wire in the team's production facility to reach the height of 46 Eiffel Tower's
The tournament is in its infancy during our visit and so with three screens in the room for on-screen talent, Wilander, Corretja and Croft are all keeping track of different matches, scribbling notes and liaising with those in production to ensure later coverage captures the matches best in a couple of minutes.
Wilander in particular, who co-hosts the flagship programme 'Game, Schett & Mats' each day with former WTA player Barbara Schett, sees first-hand how technology such as touch screens, augmented reality and hawk-eye ensure their coverage is forward-thinking and ahead of competitors.
'I am absolutely horse s**t with technology!' Wilander says, laughing at his capabilities from when he started to what he can do now.
'When I started out with Eurosport it was
