By Mike McIntyre
Photo: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography
With the Miami Open just reaching its conclusion with John Isner and Sloane Stephens hoisting their respective winners trophies, the ATP and WTA Tour's now switch their focus from hard to clay courts. The surface transition is an exciting period of time as it means that we are fast approaching the next Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros. With roughly a month and a half still to go this is the time for players to assert themselves as pre-tournament favorites for the French Open. With that in mind, let's take a look at who to watch out for in the men's and women's games.
Will defending champion Rafael Nadal be healthy enough to capture his 11th title in Paris? The Spaniard had a remarkable return to form in 2017 capturing both the French and US Open's but has been limited in his appearances this year due to knee issues. If at (or close to) 100% he is the heavy favorite to be the last man standing once again in June.
Photo: Bob McIntyre
The biggest challenge to Nadal might well have been the ageless Roger Federer but he has once again decided to skip the clay court season and prepare for his ultimate goal of capturing yet another Wimbledon crown. Federer raced-out to his best start to a season ever with 17 consecutive wins before he fell to Juan Martin Del Potro in the finals in Indian Wells.
Active winners at Roland Garros are few and far between due to Nadal's incredible dominance over the past decade. In fact, the only ones left on the ATP Tour aside from the previously mentioned Federer are Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka. Djokovic continues to struggle to regain his form and his confidence while Wawrinka has a very mediocre 3-4 record thus far in his limited appearances in 2018. In other words, the chances of a first-time French Open winner if Nadal falters are high.
Likely candidates who could take-down the King of Clay include Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and the previously mentioned Del Potro. Aside from Federer, it has been Del Potro who has had a stellar 2018 with a 21-4 record that has seen him rise to No. 6 in the ATP rankings. His game works well on clay too and he has previously made the semifinals of Roland Garros in 2009 and the quarterfinals in 2012, both times falling in five set thrillers to Federer.
Thiem and Zverev meanwhile represent the future of the ATP and at the ages of 24 and 20 respectively it is only a matter of time before they achieve Grand Slam success. Thiem has gone an impressive 8-1 already this year on clay with a tournament victory in Buenos Aires. Last year he went 24-5 on clay including a run to the semifinals at Roland Garros where he lost to eventual champion Nadal. Zverev is still looking for his Grand Slam breakthrough and he routinely gets knocked for failing to yet attain a major quarterfinal. The German has not yet played on clay in 2018 but had a respectable 16-4 record on the surface in 2017. The kid is going to have his turn at the majors sooner rather than later and there's no reason why that can't happen at the next Slam of 2018.
With the women, few would have given Jelena Ostapenko a realistic shot of winning her first major title last year at Roland Garros but the 20 year old certainly cannot be underestimated this time around. While her game lay dormant to start 2018, she made the finals in Indian Wells on hardcourt and that boost in confidence should propel her into the clay court season feeling pretty solid about her game.
Photo: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography
Other active female winners in Paris include Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009), Francesca Schiavone (2010), Garbine Muguruza (2016), Maria Sharapova (2012, 2014) and, of course, Serena Williams (2002, 2013, 2015). Of that group I'd give only Muguruza - the current World No. 3 - a valid shot at taking home the trophy. Sharapova is on-again, off-again dealing with nagging injury issues, just recently parted ways with her long time coach and just doesn't seem to have it since returning to the WTA Tour following her 15 month suspension that ended last Spring. As for Serena Williams, let's give the 23 time Slam champion a little more time to shake-off the rust after her nearly 14 month layoff from competition while she was pregnant and became a first-time mother.
Legitimate female contenders in 2018 aside from Muguruza, include World No. 1 Simona Halep who was oh-so-close a year ago. The Romanian was heavily favored heading into the final vs Ostapenko last year but could not capitalize despite being up a break in the third set. Another Slam disappointment happened for Halep to start this year as she lost the Aussie Open final to Caroline Wozniacki. Halep however has maintained a positive attitude thanks in part to her own internal sense of competition but also due to the wonderful influence that her coach Darren Cahill has on her. Halep is widely considered to be the leading contender to win the French Open and finally break through the barrier to her first career major.
Photo: Jimmie48 Tennis Photography
Other noteworthy competitors who will also be in good standing to triumph in Paris among the women are rising star Elina Svitolina, former World No. 1 and 2017 semifinalist Karolina Pliskova and two time semifinalist Timea Bacsinszky if she's healthy and has some matches under her belt, as she only recently returned to the tour following a few months off due to injury.
Aside from Rafael Nadal, the men's and women's fields are really wide open with a list of younger and more experienced contenders at this year's edition of Roland Garros. Tune-in again later in May to see how the above mentioned players have navigated the lead-up tournaments on the red dirt and who is poised to achieve Grand Slam Glory in Paris.
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