Friday 26 May 2017 09:13, UK
The 2017 French Open appears to be one of the most open in years on the women's side.
World No 1 Angelique Kerber has won just two matches on clay, Serena Williams misses out as she is pregnant, Maria Sharapova has not been given a wildcard, and several other top players are out of form.
So who are the leading contenders? Here are five potential challengers...
After a slow start to the year that saw her lose in straight sets in the first round at the Australian Open, Halep has come to life on the clay. She reached the semi-finals in Stuttgart, won in Madrid and then reached the final in Rome.
"I started pretty bad this year. Now I'm back with confidence," said the world No 4, after defending her Madrid title with a three-set win over Kristina Mladenovic.
However, she says she only has a "50-50" chance of being fit for the tournament due to an ankle injury suffered in Rome. "I'm keeping my fingers crossed," she added. "Doctors say it's 50-50 at the moment but it's made good improvement since Sunday."
Halep reached the final in Paris in 2014 but has failed to make the quarter-finals in either of the last two years.
She perhaps best summed up the unpredictability of this year's French Open when she was asked who she thinks is the favourite for the tournament. "About 15 players," was her response.
The 22-year-old is the form player this year with four tournament wins, moving her up to a career-high No 6 in the world. She won on hard courts in Taiwan and Dubai before winning clay-court tournaments in Istanbul and Rome.
While Istanbul did not feature the strongest field, her path to lifting the trophy in Rome saw her beat world No 3 Karolina Pliskova, defending French Open champion Garbine Muguruza, who retired after five games, and Halep.
Svitolina's best run at a major was when she reached the quarter-finals in Paris in 2015, and she is hoping the rain stays away at Roland Garros.
"Hopefully the courts will be dry, and we will have more opportunities for clay-court players who move," she said after beating Halep. "There is so much pressure. Everyone is so hungry to win each match and gives everything."
Muguruza appeared to be playing herself into some form in Rome before retiring against Svitolina in the semi-finals with a neck injury. Although she said afterwards that she was not worried about the French Open, it is her fourth retirement of the year.
Before reaching the last four in Rome, she had also lost in her opening matches in her previous two clay-court tournaments.
But if she is fit for the start of the French Open, then she should be considered among the favourites, having reached the quarter-finals in 2014 and 2015 and then winning the tournament last year with an impressive straight-sets victory over Serena Williams in the final.
Before the start of this year, most of Mladenovic's success had been in doubles. However, she has soared up to No 14 in the world in singles after winning in St Petersburg, reaching the Acapulco final and then making the semi-finals in Indian Wells.
On the clay in Stuttgart, she beat Sharapova and Kerber on her way to the final before losing the Madrid final to Halep, citing some problems with a slight back injury.
Only once, when she reached the 2015 US Open quarter-finals, has Mladenovic made it past the third round at a major in singles, but did win the French Open doubles last year and reached the mixed final in 2013.
She credits much of her success in singles this season to her doubles experience.
"It helps a lot, everything I'm doing right now since the start of the season is because I had lots of experience, lots of big moments handling the pressure," she said in Madrid.
"It helps because I don't feel like anything is really new. I want to be there. I just try to find my way to keep improving and keep moving."
Among the many favourites for the French Open, there is nobody - aside from Venus Williams - who can match the experience of Kuznetsova.
The Russian won the tournament in 2009 and has since reached the quarter-finals on three occasions. Her clay-court form has been patchy; losing her second match in Stuttgart to eventual champion Laura Siegemund before making the Madrid semi-finals and then again losing early in Rome.
However, at the age of 31, she says she is targeting more success at the major events. "Definitely I'm choosing the bigger events and going back to play better in the slams. This is a priority," she commented in Rome.
Who do you think will win the French Open? Have your say below.
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