The French Open is one of the most popular and exciting tennis events of the year and this time around things are expected to be just as intense as suau, with a ton of big names looking to take home the title including Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, Li Na, Victoria Azarenka and many more.
Nadal will be looking for his eighth career French Open title after missing most of last year and part of this year with a knee injury and he is excited to get back into the swing of things at major championships after missing the last two at the US Open and the Australian Open. Nadal has been fantastic since coming back from his knee injury, winning five titles on clay and looking like the Rafa of old, but Djokovic could meet last year's champ in the semifinals and he is looking to complete the career slam with a French Open win. Murray will be out of the tournament after winning the US Open as will Juan Martin del Potro, taking some star power away but leaving Nadal and Djokovic with an easier route to the finals.
Roger Federer will be looking to get back on top and he could meet with David Ferrer in the semifinals on the other side, while Nadal will be playing David Goffin in the first round after he was able to beat Federer in one set last year before losing to him. The women's side is expected to be just as exciting with Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova, who won last year, while Williams is coming into the match on a career best winning streak and will be looking for her first French Open title in more than a decade and she could face off against Angelique Kerber in the semis after facing Anna Tatishvili in the opening round.
Some of the other big names and matches on the men's side includes Federer playing Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France while No. four David Ferrer will play against Tomas Berdych if they advance. The French have not have a home grown winner since Bulls star Joakim Noah's father Yannick did it back in the 1980s and this year will be even tougher with Nadal back in the fold. Williams has already won one slam, but that's the least amount of the three and she would love to bookend her career with those titles as Sharapova is looking to repeat. Williams is the number one seed and is looking for her 16th major at the tournament and based on the way she has played this year so far, no one will be able to beat her, not even Sharapova.
Djokovic just recently defeated Nadal on clay, but that was his lone mark on the year as he has won five titles and is looking for another at the major as his best surface is clay and he has been dominant on that and in Roland Garros for a decade and it will be hard for anyone to defeat Nadal, even Djokovic. Nadal has not missed a final in quite a while and he has made the finals in every tournament he has played this year, showing that his injury is not an issue after missing the back half of last year after losing in the second round at Wimbledon and missing out on the US Open and the Australian Open before returning. The clay court is his best surface and it is much better on his knees than the harder courts.
