French Open: Five talking points ahead of Roland Garros

Can anyone stop Nadal?

The Spaniard is going for a scarcely-credible 12th title on the clay courts of Paris' leafy 16th arrondissement. Roland Garros may look different following its redevelopment, but Nadal's forehand will seem awfully familiar to anyone subject to its destructive powers. Provided the 32-year-old stays fit, which is far from guaranteed, it seems only Djokovic offers a realistic threat. The world number one has suffered more than most at the hands of Nadal here but has the carrot of a second non-calendar Grand Slam having won the last three titles.

Will Halep be a repeat winner?

The women's tournament is once again very open, although perhaps not quite as open as the last couple of years. The favourite is Halep, who finally won her fourth slam final last summer and remains the premier clay talent of her generation. Kiki Bertens and Karolina Pliskova both arrived in Paris full of confidence after winning the big WTA Tour titles in Madrid and Rome, while Osaka has had her best clay season and showed what a mental warrior she is by battling to a second-successive slam title in Melbourne.

What about Serena?

More than a year into her comeback following the birth of her daughter, Williams' form remains tough to predict. A knee problem has reduced her already-sparse schedule still further and she has not completed more than one match in a tournament since the most dramatic collapse of her career from 5-1 up in the deciding set of her Australian Open quarter-final against Pliskova. Williams has shown many times that she can find her level at the slams when she needs it. But whether she is in the physical shape to sustain that through seven matches seems doubtful.

Konta the clay-courter

Johanna Konta had won seven tour-level matches on clay in her whole career prior to heading to Rabat last month. Since then, she has more than doubled that tally with 10 victories, including beating Sloane Stephens, Venus Williams and Bertens to reach a wholly-unexpected final in Rome. Konta is using more spin and her determination to persist with the drop shot despite extremely mixed results is now paying dividends. It would be a stretch to see her as a title challenger – a first main-draw win at Roland Garros is the first hurdle – but Konta has proved in the past that, when confident, she can be a danger to all.

Edmund looking for form

While Konta is heading back in the right direction, it is a different story for Britain's leading male. Kyle Edmund likes clay and made the third round here last year but he has won just one match on the surface in 2019 and is on a five-match losing streak. The draw could have been significantly kinder than pitting him against talented Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, and should he lose a sixth-successive match then his British number position will come under serious threat from Cameron Norrie.

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