With the conclusion of the sunshine double, it's time to say hello to the clay court season. The next two months are all about clay.
Defending champion Rafael Nadal will be looking to add a record 12th French Open title. World number one Novak Djokovic will be eyeing a fourth consecutive Grand Slam title after winning the last three while Roger Federer makes a comeback to the red dirt after two years and then there is the threat of the Next Gen who will be looking to end the dominance of the Big Three.
With three Masters 1000s and the French Open on the red dirt looming, it may be too early to predict the favourites for the French Open. Nevertheless, Sports Social has decided to make some early predictions for the second slam of the year.
5. Alexander Zverev
Touted as the future world number one and one of the cleanest strikers of the ball among the younger generation, 21-year-old Alexander Zverev is already a winner of two Masters titles on clay. But lack of experience and fitness on the big stage has always costed the young German in the Majors.
His best performance in a slam came in 2018 when he made it to the quarter-finals of the French Open. Zverev has all the ingredients to be a future Grand Slam winner and the French Open may be the slam that will end his disappointing record in the best of five.
4. Roger Federer
He's back! After a disappointing start to the season where he lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open, Federer decided to end his clay-court hiatus this year. Federer has struggled since lifting the 2018 Australian Open, but has returned to form in recent weeks after making it to three finals in his last three tournaments (winning two of them).
He will be playing the Mutua Madrid Open before the French Open and will have nothing to lose as he has 0 points to defend. His lone win at the French came in 2009 and the Swiss will be looking to add another slam in Paris before he calls it a day.
3. Novak Djokovic
He has held four Grand Slams at once before and he will be going for it again. The world number one decimated Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the first slam of the year in Australia. But his form has cooled down since then as he suffered unexpected losses in Indian Wells and Miami.
But everyone who knows Djokovic knows that he saves his best tennis for the slams. An all-round player, Djokovic is a dangerous player on clay and is one of the two players to beat Nadal at the French. Will it be number 15 for the Serb?
2. Dominic Thiem
After winning his first Masters title at Indian Wells, Thiem has announced himself on the ATP tour. The title will give him loads of confidence heading into the clay court season. It is not a surprise that clay is Thiem’s favoured surface. Last year's French Open finalist, Thiem is the only player to have beaten Nadal on clay in the last two years. If there is anyone who can beat the Spaniard on clay, it is the Austrian.
His all-round game makes him a threat on clay and Roland Garros represents his best chance of winning a Grand Slam. The only hurdle that stands in his way is Nadal, who has beaten him in the semis and finals in the last two years.
1. Rafael Nadal
No surprises here. After clinching La Undécima last year, Nadal will be looking to add an unheard 12th French Open title and his 18th Grand Slam. In a best of five on clay, Nadal is virtually unbeatable. It is difficult to find a weakness in a man who has a 86-2 record in Paris.
He suffered an inflammation of the knee at Indian Wells but has returned to training on clay. If there is anyone or anything that could stop Nadal from lifting another French Open title, it is his body.
The 2019 French Open begins on Sunday 26 May 2019 and ends with the Men's Final on Sunday 9 June 2019.
