Go to our French Open tournament page for the full draw. Looking for Steve Tignor's analysis? Visit TENNIS.com on Friday when his full bracket breakdowns are revealed.
JOEL DRUCKER: Rafael Nadal
Nadal will earn title number 11. Though tough to see him not dropping a set, as he did last year, it's probably even harder to imagine him being pushed to five sets. He’s healthy, hungry and match-tough. Roger Federer can play for my pleasure; Nadal can play for my life.
ED MCGROGAN: Rafael Nadal
Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev and Stan Wawrinka, three players who could trouble Nadal on their best days, are far away from the Spaniard in the draw. Novak Djokovic, like that talented trio, is also in the half of the draw opposite Nadal. Even if they weren't, though, would it make a difference?
NINA PANTIC: Rafael Nadal
It is outrageous to pick anyone other than Nadal. The King of Clay has a firm grip on his throne, with just one loss on the surface this season, to Dominic Thiem in Rome. The two are on opposite sides of the draw. Beating Nadal on clay is nearly impossible, but doing it in a French Open final is unspeakable.
STEVE FLINK: Rafael Nadal
It must be Nadal. He won three of the four clay court tournaments he played en route to Roland Garros. He is confident, fully prepared and very eager to secure his eleventh title.
ZACH COHEN: Rafael Nadal
It’s never fun picking Nadal to win the French Open, but the reality is that it’s going to happen. Not only has Rafa won this tournament 10 times and dominated on clay throughout his career, but got a kind draw as well.
ASHLEY NDEBELE: Rafael Nadal
This is Nadal’s tournament to lose. Zverev, Djokovic and Thiem pose valid threats, but the Spaniard—who has a 79-2 career record at Roland Garros and won three titles this clay-court season—will emerge the victor.
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*With the exception of No. 20 Novak Djokovic
JOEL DRUCKER: Borna Coric
Coric has made considerable improvements to his forehand this year, played well on many surfaces and, with some good breaks, could at last reach the second week of a major.
ED MCGROGAN: Fernando Verdasco
I had a hard time making this choice; I think chalk will largely prevail in Paris. But the veteran lefty, who snuck into the seeds with Hyeon Chung's withdrawal, is a gamer on all surfaces, and I'm still not sold on Grigor Dimitrov, a possible third-round opponent.
NINA PANTIC: Stefanos Tsitsipas
The 19-year-old has little to lose, and he’s put together the best season of his young career by reaching the Barcelona final and Estoril semifinals. Tsitsipas was playing Challengers in March, just before his tour breakthrough in Europe gave him wings. This is only the world No. 40’s second time playing a Slam as a direct main-draw entry.
STEVE FLINK: Gael Monfils
Monfils is seeded No. 32 and he is always a danger at Roland Garros. Shapovalov is seeded 24th but he has the right mentality. Yet how would the left-handed Canadian beat Nadal in the round of 16 ie he gets there?
ZACH COHEN: Fernando Verdasco
I don’t think Verdasco is capable of winning this tournament, but I do think he has a chance to make it to at least the fourth round. He’d have to get by Dimitrov, but the Bulgarian is definitely beatable on clay.
ASHLEY NDEBELE: Denis Shapovalov
He’s still a teenager but plays a big man’s game. He loves the big stage and has big wins to show for it. He’s in Nadal’s quarter, which is never good news; however, the 20-year-old Canadian has one win against the 10-time Roland Garros champ, albeit on hard courts.
JOEL DRUCKER: Kevin Anderson
Though this consummate pro has reached the fourth round at Roland Garros three times, including last year, and is at a career-high ranking of No. 7, I have a hard time picturing Anderson and his very flat strokes in the final eight amid competition from so many true clay-courters. But won’t mind being proven wrong.
ED MCGROGAN: Juan Martin del Potro
If the injured Argentine plays, he'll be up against a player who won't let him settle in to his baseline comfort zone, Nicolas Mahut. The veteran serves big, knows how to the cover the entire court and will have the French crowd on his side.
NINA PANTIC: Grigor Dimitrov
The Bulgarian may be sitting pretty with a No. 3 seeding, but he’s drawn a tough opponent in Viktor Troicki, who beat him in the first round of the 2016 French Open. Dimitrov has simply never done well at Roland Garros, losing four first rounds in seven appearances. He’s also arrives riding a three-match losing streak.
STEVE FLINK: Grigor Dimitrov
At the moment, I don’t trust Dimitrov, the No. 4 seed. He has had a lackluster clay-court campaign and he does not look nearly as confident as he was at the end of last year. In my view he will not move up to his seeding or come even close to it, and he could well fall some time in the first three rounds.
ZACH COHEN: Kevin Anderson
Anderson is an impressive player, but he has never made it further than the fourth round at the French Open. Clay simply isn’t his surface, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see him go down to Paolo Lorenzi in the first round. But even if Anderson advances, I'm not expecting a deep run.
ASHLEY NDEBELE: Grigor Dimitrov
After reaching the semis in Monte Carlo, the Bulgarian lost back-to-back second-round matches in Madrid and Rome. His confidence has taken a beating, and might not be able to recover in time. Besides, he’s never been past the third round at Roland Garros.
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