With the French Open starting on Sunday, it is time for me to write my list of 10 things to look for in the lone clay grand slam. Enjoy!
#1. Can Novak Djokovic make any noise? Novak Djokovic isn't having the type of season he was hoping to have. He's been battling injuries and comes into Roland Garros as the #20 seed as a result. While he's won 12 grand slam titles, he's only won the French Open once in 2016. It's hard to see him getting past the 4th round, but if he's able to make a run to the quarterfinals or beyond, that will be a really encouraging sign of things to come for the former world number one.
#2. Can Jelena Ostapenko defend her crown? Last year, Jelena Ostapenko shocked the tennis world by winning the French Open at just 20 years of age. She comes in as the #5 seed and has a pretty good draw, so she should be able to make a run. The major difference between last year and this year is that this time she has the expectations to make a deep run and possibly defend her crown. It'll be interesting to see how she handles the additional pressure that comes with being the defending champion.
#3. Will anyone seriously challenge Rafael Nadal? Rafael Nadal comes in as the #1 ranked player in the world and is in peak form, having won his 8th Italian Open just a couple weeks ago. Nadal has won the French Open 10 times and comes in as the defending champion once again. Given that he's so heavily favored, it'll be interesting to see if anyone gives him a serious scare. Especially with Roger Federer and Andy Murray both out.
#4. How dangerous is Serena Williams? Despite not being seeded, Serena Williams is still a dark horse to win the whole thing. She's won the French Open three times and knows how to win on the dirt. My feeling on Serena is the longer she stays in the tournament, the more dangerous she becomes. If she's going to go out, she's much more likely to go out early, within the first three rounds. If she's still alive in the 4th round, it'll be really tough to pick against her given her pedigree. For those who've lost count, this would be Serena's 24th grand slam title if she were to win.
#5. Should we take Alexander Zverev seriously? On the surface, this seems like a stupid question. Alexander Zverev is the #2 seed in the tournament and ranked #3 in the world. Of course we should take him seriously, right? What prevents this from being an obvious question is Zverev's lack of grand slam success. The furthest he's gone at grand slam is the 4th round (Wimbledon 2017). Until we see him competing in the second week of a grand slam, it will be hard to have much faith in him making a serious run. He really needs to back up his ranking during this event. Especially given the absences of Federer and Murray.
#6. Can Simona Halep breakthrough? Simona Halep comes in as the #1 ranked player in the world and is eagerly seeking her first grand slam title. She's been to three grand slam finals, two of which have been at Roland Garros (2014 & 2017). Given her historical success at Roland Garros, there's no reason to doubt her chances of winning it all this year. If she's going to breakthrough to win her first grand slam, Roland Garros seems like the most likely place she'll do it. While she'll have to beat a lot of good players, she's my favorite to win it all.
#7. Is Dominic Thiem the biggest threat to Rafael Nadal? If one were to identify the biggest threat to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros, it would probably be Dominic Thiem. He's the #7 seed and has made back-to-back runs to the semifinals at Roland Garros in 2016 and 2017. He's done far better at Roland Garros than any other grand slam and seems to be building momentum towards a finals run. While Nadal is the guy to beat overall, Thiem is definitely the guy to beat on his half of the draw.
#8. Does Maria Sharapova have a deep run in her? Maria Sharapova comes in as the #28 seed and has won the French Open twice (2012 and 2014). She's shown that she can win on the dirt. While her seed indicates that she's a long shot, she did make a run to the semifinals at the Italian Open a couple of weeks ago. That's definitely something that should give her confidence going into this event.
#9. Grigor Dimitrov needs to back up his ranking. Despite being the #4 seed and ranked #5 in the world, there's still a ton of questions surrounding Grigor Dimitrov's abilities to make a deep run at a grand slam. He's reached the semifinals a couple of times, but that's been at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He's never gotten past the 3rd round at Roland Garros and really needs to do a better job of performing in this event. If he doesn't at least reach the quarterfinals, I'll be really disappointed in him.
#10. Don't forget about Garbiñe Muguruza. Garbiñe Muguruza comes in as the #3 seed and also as a two-time grand slam champion, winning at Roland Garros in 2016 and at Wimbledon in 2017. Muguruza knows how to win grand slams and with a vulnerable women's field, you could argue a really good case that she should be favored to win it all. If there's anyone who Simona Halep should be worried about getting in her way, it's definitely Muguruza. She has both the ranking and pedigree to back it up.
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