The second Grand Slam tournament of the year will kick off on Sunday. After five weeks of the European clay court season, we have got a good taste of what we are to expect.

Rafael Nadal heads the men’s field and is looking for his fifth consecutive win in the French capital. Nadal has actually never lost a match at Roland Garros where he debuted as an 18-year old in 2005. The 22-year old Spaniard has won three out of the four last Grand Slams to have been played including Wimbledon and the US Open. So far in 2009, Nadal has been highly impressive and holds a comfortable lead on the ATP rankings. On the clay, Nadal’s record is 19-1, with his only loss coming in the final of Madrid this past Sunday.

Roger Federer has been a runner-up for the past three years and is still looking for his first win in Paris. Having won Wimbledon five times, the US Open five times and the Australian Open three times, Federer is very much looking for a French Open title to make it a career Grand Slam. The Swiss struggled during the early parts of the clay court season but enjoyed a great win on Sunday when he defeated Nadal to claim the title in Madrid. Federer will definitely have to be at his very best to stand a good chance in Paris.

Novak Djokovic has enjoyed a very successful run on the clay which has included a title in his home country and three strong finishes in the Masters 1000 events. Rafael Nadal is the only player to have been able to stop the Serbian. The recent semifinal in Madrid will surely go down as one of the best matches of the year. Nadal was pushed to the limit as he finally defeated Djokovic 3-6, 7-6, 7-6 after 4 hours and 4 minutes. If Djokovic can maintain some of that form, he will be a very dangerous contender in Paris.

Andy Murray ranks clay as his worst surface but has improved a lot over the last year. The highlight of the clay season so far was a semifinal in Monte Carlo, where he lost to Nadal. Overall, 2009 has been a great year for the 22-year old Scot who has climbed to No. 3 in the world after winning titles in Doha, Rotterdam and Miami. Murray’s best finish in Paris is a third round from last year, a result which he has a great chance to improve on in 2009.

Juan Martin Del Potro is the new World No. 5 and a player with a good clay court game. The 20-year old Argentinean reached the semifinal in Madrid where he defeated Murray. Del Potro lost already in the second round of the French Open in 2008 but will be expected to be in the mix when the second week comes along in 2009.

Fernando Verdasco has been one of the big improvers on the Tour during the past six months, and the Spaniard is expected to do well at Roland Garros. The Australian Open was a breakthrough event where Verdasco battled his way to the semifinals before losing in an epic match to Nadal. Since then, Verdasco has reached the quarterfinals in all six events that he has played.

The women’s game in 2009 is more open than it has been for many years, and the lack of a dominant player means that there are numerous contenders for what promises to be a vintage Roland Garros.

Since gaining the World No.1 ranking in April, 2008 Roland Garros finalist Dinara Safina has been in irresistible form on the European claycourt swing, picking up two prestigious titles in Rome and Madrid and compiling a 14-1 record. Her powerful groundstrokes and much improved movement have proved too much for most players and she goes into the French Open full of confidence. It will take a top performance to stop her.

Ana Ivanovic has struggled somewhat since lifting the Roland Garros crown twelve months ago, allowing too many errors to creep into her previously rock solid ground game. She showed signs of a return to form with a final appearance at Indian Wells in March, but if she is to defend her crown she will need to show much improvement from her general form this year. Ana’s supporters will hope that the return to Paris will inspire her.

The Williams sisters have shown patchy form in the lead up to this year’s Roland Garros. Serena has been troubled by a knee injury in recent weeks and this has contributed to 3 consecutive losses since a final appearance in Miami. Venus will be looking to win her first Roland Garros title on what is her least favourite surface. She can trouble any opponent with her huge serving and incredible retrieving abilities, and will hope that she can banish the inconsistency that has plagued her game at times this year.

Few players show an ability to chase lost causes like Jelena Jankovic, and she will be hoping that her ability to get one more ball back will frustrate her opponents in Paris. She has been trying to add more attacking elements to her play since her semi-final exit to Ivanovic last year, and this paid dividends in a superb run last autumn. She hasn’t quite scaled those heights this year, but still goes into the tournament as a strong contender for the title.

It would be a fairytale if Maria Sharapova could return from nine months off to victory in Paris. All eyes will be on her comeback in Warsaw this week.

Svetlana Kuznetsova has enjoyed a renaissance this spring with excellent performances at Stuttgart and Rome. The 2006 finalist has approached peak form at just the right time and will be looking to blast opponents off the court with her explosive ground game.

The two most promising young guns on the tour are Victoria Azarenka and Caroline Wozniacki. Azarenka has really made the breakthrough this year, collecting her first top tier tournament win in Miami and performing admirably in almost every tournament she has entered. If she can adapt her game successfully to clay, the sky is the limit. Tennis interest in Denmark has hit fever pitch with the emergence of Wozniacki, and her clean hitting from both wings propelled her to the final in Madrid last week. She is adding a killer instinct to great consistency and will be very confident heading into Roland Garros.