PARIS (AP) — With 14-time champion Rafael Nadal out of the tournament, here are top men to watch at the French Open, which begins at Roland Garros on Sunday:
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Seeded: 1
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Spain
Age: 20
2023 Record: 30-3
2023 Titles: 4
Career Titles: 10
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — U.S. Open (2022)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-Lost in Quarterfinals, 2021-3rd Round, 2020-Did Not Play, 2019-DNP, 2018-DNP
The Bracket: Could face No. 26 Denis Shapovalov in the third round and No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.
Aces: Seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. ... Leads ATP on clay this season in match wins (20-2 record) and titles (3). ... Turned 20 on May 5. Only five men won more titles as teens, and it's quite a group: Bjorn Borg, Rafael Nadal, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, Andre Agassi. ... U.S. Open title last September helped Alcaraz become first teenager to finish a season at No. 1 in the ATP rankings; he recently overtook Novak Djokovic to regain the top spot. ... Alcaraz missed the Australian Open in January after injuring his right leg while training.
He Said It: “It’s great to be the No. 1 seed in a Grand Slam — in Paris. That’s a tournament I really want to have a good result there.” — On looking ahead to the French Open.
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Seeded: 2
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Russia
Age: 27
2023 Record: 39-5
2023 Titles: 5
Career Titles: 20
Grand Slam Titles: 1 — U.S. Open (2021)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-4th, 2021-QF, 2020-1st, 2019-1st, 2018-1st
The Bracket: Could face No. 8 Jannik Sinner or No. 22 Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Aces: Won first career clay-court title at Italian Open this month. ... So much more comfortable — and successful — on red clay than he used to be: Medvedev began his French Open career by going 0-4, exiting in the first round in each of his first four visits. Since then, he is 7-2. ... A force on hard courts, Medvedev has reached four Grand Slam finals, winning one; the defeats came against Rafael Nadal or Novak Djokovic.
He Said It: “Every time somebody comes up (against) me playing on clay, they’re going to be like, ‘We have (a) chance.’" — On his reputation on clay, before winning the trophy in Rome.
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Seeded: 3
Career-Best Ranking: 1
Country: Serbia
Age: 36
2023 Record: 20-4
2023 Titles: 2
Career Titles: 93
Grand Slam Titles: 22 — French Open (2: 2016, 2021), Australian Open (10: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023), Wimbledon (7: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022), U.S. Open (3: 2011, 2015, 2018)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-QF, 2021-Won Championship, 2020-Runner-Up, 2019-SF, 2018-QF
The Bracket: Could face No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
Aces: Tied with Rafael Nadal for the most Grand Slam singles titles won by a man. ... Has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the half-century of computerized singles rankings than any other man or woman. ... He and Nadal have combined to win 16 of the past 19 Grand Slam tournaments — 10 by Djokovic. ... Dealt this season with some issues with his right elbow, which was surgically repaired in 2018, but looked just fine in a practice session Thursday.
He Said It: “I always like my chances in Grand Slams against anybody on any surface, best-of-five. Let’s see how it goes." — On looking ahead to Paris.
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Seeded: 4
Career-Best Ranking: 2
Country: Norway
Age: 24
2023 Record: 15-10
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 10
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2022), U.S. Open (2022)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-RU, 2021-3rd, 2020-3rd, 2019-3rd, 2018-2nd
The Bracket: Could face No. 6 Holger Rune in the quarterfinals, a rematch of their contentious quarterfinal a year ago.
Aces: Entered 2022 with a 14-13 career record in Grand Slam main-draw matches and not one quarterfinal appearance at a major. He has gone 14-4 at those events since, including runner-up finishes at the French Open (to Rafael Nadal) and U.S. Open (to Carlos Alcaraz). ... Leads ATP since start of 2020 in match wins (80), final appearances (11) and titles (9) on clay.
He Said It: “Your expectations are a little bit higher coming into tournaments, which can be dangerous. If it doesn’t go well, you think, ‘What am I doing wrong? What happened?'" — On following up his breakthrough 2022.
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Seeded: 5
Career-Best Ranking: 3
Country: Greece
Age: 24
2023 Record: 27-8
2023 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 9
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Runner-Up, French Open (2021), Australian Open (2023)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-4th, 2021-RU, 2020-SF, 2019-4th, 2018-2nd
The Bracket: Could face No. 10 Felix Auger-Aliassime or No. 24 Sebastian Korda in the fourth round.
Aces: At Roland Garros in 2021, became the youngest man to make it to the final of a Grand Slam tournament in more than a decade. Took a two-set lead against Djokovic before losing in five. ... Lost to Djokovic in a major final again at Melbourne Park this January. ... Has reached six Slam semifinals.
He Said It: “The desire is really there. I really, really want it badly. But just dreaming about it won’t make it happen. You got to act." — On winning a Grand Slam title.
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Seeded: 6
Career-Best Ranking: 6
Country: Denmark
Age: 20
2023 Record: 27-10
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 4
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Quarterfinals, French Open (2022)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-QF, 2021-DNP, 2020-DNP, 2019-DNP, 2018-DNP
The Bracket: Could face No. 9 Taylor Fritz in the fourth round.
Aces: Run to Italian Open final shows he has what it takes for long stay in Paris. ... Victory over Novak Djokovic in Rome was second in a row for Rune, who also beat the 22-time major champion at the Paris Masters last year. ... That was part of Rune's strong end to 2022, when he went 19-2 and claimed two titles. There were dips earlier in the season: He went 1-6 from January to February, then 0-7 from June to July.
He Said It: “I want to win a Grand Slam this year. That’s what I’ve said in the past, and I stick to that. Obviously I hope it can be achieved at the French Open. If not, I hope to make it in the other two Grand Slams.” — On his goals.
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Seeded: 8
Career-Best Ranking: 8
Country: Italy
Age: 21
2023 Record: 28-7
2023 Titles: 1
Career Titles: 7
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Quarterfinals, French Open (2020), Australian Open (2022), Wimbledon (2022), U.S. Open (2022)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-4th, 2021-4th, 2020-QF, 2019-DNP, 2018-DNP
The Bracket: Could face No. 28 Grigor Dimitrov in the third round.
Aces: Has seemed on cusp of major breakthrough for quite some time, having reached the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slam tournaments. ... Made it that far at three majors in 2022, including a loss to eventual champion Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon after taking the initial two sets, and a loss to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open after holding a match point. ... Ranks fifth on tour over the past year in percentage of return games won, at 30%.
He Said It: “I feel like I can play on every surface quite well.” — On his versatility.
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Seeded: 16
Career-Best Ranking: 17
Country: United States
Age: 26
2023 Record: 16-9
2023 Titles: Zero
Career Titles: 1
Grand Slam Titles: None — Best: Semifinals, Australian Open (2023)
Last 5 French Opens: 2022-1st, 2021-2nd, 2020-2nd, 2019-1st, 2018-DNP
The Bracket: After facing a player from qualifying in the first round, could meet Nicolas Jarry or Hugo Dellien in the second.
Aces: Made good on promise shown during strong junior career by reaching first Grand Slam semifinal at Australian Open in January before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic. ... Born in New Jersey; grew up in North Carolina; now based in Florida. ... As a teen, won junior singles title and reached junior doubles final at French Open in 2015.
He Said It: “Walking on the court was cool. Playing the match and getting beaten like that kind of sucked.” — On facing Djokovic at Melbourne Park.
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Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/HowardFendrich
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