Five big reasons why French Open this year will be compelling to watch

Rafa favourite for 11th title
Spanish great Rafael Nadal boasts an incredible record of 79 wins and just two defeats at Roland Garros having won his first career Slam title in Paris as a 19-year-old in 2005. Now he aims for a 17th major and with Roger Federer and Andy Murray not playing. He is favourite to become just the second player in history to win 11 singles titles at any Slam after Margaret Court who won the Australian Open in 1960-66, 1969-71 and 1973. Nadal arrives in Paris in prime form, winning clay court titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome.

Will Serena be at her best?
Serena Williams needs just one more Grand Slam title to equal Margaret Court's all-time record of 24, but hasn't played at one of the big four tournaments since the 2017 Australian Open. After returning to the tour following the birth of her daughter, she suffered early defeats to sister Venus and Naomi Osaka in Indian Wells and Miami respectively. But the greatest women's player of the modern era can never be counted out, and form anywhere near her best will make her a contender for a fourth Roland Garros triumph.

Dimitrov looks to end drought
Fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov is bidding to win his first Slam title on his 31st appearance at the Slams. However, should he fail, he still has a long way to go to beat the all-time waiting game. It took Goran Ivanisevic 48 attempts to win his first major at Wimbledon in 2001. The Bulgarian has never reached the Roland Garros fourth round, but did have a run to the Monte Carlo semis last month. Spare a thought for Tomas Berdych, meanwhile, who will be playing in his 58th Slam at the French Open and is still without a major title to his name.

Current World No. 1 Simona Halep

The fight for No. 1 spot
At Roland Garros, Caroline Wozniacki, Garbine Muguruza, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova and Caroline Garcia can all supplant Simona Halep as World No. 1. Wozniacki will be guaranteed a return to No. 1 with a second successive Grand Slam title, while Spain's Muguruza will succeed Halep with a second French Open crown, as long as she doesn't face Wozniacki in the final. The chances for the other trio are more remote, as they have plenty of points to defend having all reached at least the last eight in 2017.

Djokovic eyes Grand Slam first
Novak Djokovic may have been plagued by a persistent elbow injury which has seen his world ranking tumble to 22, his lowest for over a decade, but the 2016 champion has extra incentive to win a 13th major. Victory would make him the first player in an Open era - and just third overall - to win each of the four Grand Slams twice. Australian greats Roy Emerson and Rod Laver are the other two men to achieve the feat. Djokovic made the semi-finals in Rome last week where he lost to Nadal and looks rejuvenated having restored his coaching relationship with Marjan Vajda.

Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever