French Open 2019 men power rankings: Who are our Roland Garros favourites?

Based on current form, pedigree and unquantifiable hunches, here is our ranking of the players with the best chance of winning this year's French Open.

10. Juan Martin del Potro

Were it not for injuries, Del Potro would be far higher on the list. As it is, there are major doubts over whether his body will hold out for two weeks - especially on clay.

That said, Del Potro pushed Novak Djokovic all the way in a thrilling Italian Open quarter-final last week, and was a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year, as well as in 2009.

No-one will fancy taking on Del Potro and his hammer of a forehand, but you suspect the tournament will come a little too soon for him.

9. Kei Nishikori

A solid if unspectacular candidate, Nishikori reached the semi-finals in Barcelona and has made it to the second week at Roland Garros in each of his last two visits.

A reasonably favourable draw could help Nishikori's cause this time, and he should have enough to set up a likely quarter-final against Rafael Nadal.

8. Stan Wawrinka

Wawrinka has neither the form nor the ranking to be in this list, but the 2015 champion certainly has the pedigree. A three-time major winner, Wawrinka is capable of beating anyone when he's in the groove - with that final against Novak Djokovic four years ago one of the finest displays of fearless hitting from any player in recent memory.

He may be running a little lower on gas these days, but the man nicknamed 'Diesel' by Roger Federer could have one last charge in him.

7. Daniil Medvedev

Medvedev's impressive form over the last few weeks explains his relatively lofty position here. After reaching the Barcelona final and semi-final in Monte Carlo, Medvedev has demonstrated that he is a tricky customer on clay.

A big part of Medvedev's strength on the surface is his durability and almost Djokovic-esque ability to suck the life out of his opponents with gruelling baseline exchanges.

A dark horse at a venue where he has strangely never won a match.

6. Fabio Fognini

Arguably the most entertaining player on the tour, and one of the few in the top 20 for whom clay is their favourite surface. After winning in Monte Carlo, the swaggering Fognini must be considered a genuine contender for Roland Garros. Even Djokovic and Nadal know that when the mood takes him, and he puffs his chest out into full peacock mode, there is not a lot they can do.

It's surely about time that the 32 year old Fognini reached his first grand-slam semi-final. (All this said, Fognini could easily implode and go out in the first round).

5. Roger Federer

Would be higher were it not for his lack of match-time on clay coming into the event, and absence at Roland Garros since 2015.

If anyone can make light of a situation like that it is Federer, but over five sets on clay it's tempting to think that a young whippersnapper like Tsitsipas might have a bit too much physically - as was the case at the Australian Open.

4. Stefanos Tsitsipas

Speaking of Tsitsipas, a second consecutive grand-slam semi-final looks to be within his grasp. He is seeded to meet Federer in the quarter-final, and the 20-time slam champion will hold no fears after that brilliant win in Melbourne four months ago.

Even the King of clay Nadal - whom he could meet in the semis - will seem beatable after Tsitsipas's victory in Madrid. Tsitsipas also has a success over Djokovic to his name, and is so blissfully self-confident and free of doubt that he will fully believe he should win this tournament.

3. Dominic Thiem

Is this finally Thiem's time? For so long the pretender to Nadal's throne, last year's finalist, now 25, must sense he is ready to step up.

Wins over Nadal and Federer on clay over the last month have rubber-stamped Thiem's credentials, and he will be heavily fancied to reach the semi-finals, where he is seeded to face Djokovic.

Thiem has already beaten Djokovic at Roland Garros; he may well have to do so again, and then beat Nadal if he is to claim a maiden grand slam.

2. Novak Djokovic

It's tough to split the top two based on recent form, but Nadal gets the nod because of his unrivalled pedigree.

Djokovic, though, is many experts' favourite for good reason. He has won the previous three grand slams, was a Roland Garros champion as recently as 2016, and absolutely destroyed Nadal in Paris the year before that.

1. Rafael Nadal

What more can you say really than 11 FRENCH OPEN TITLES? 11! Nadal has made winning at Roland Garros look so easily that we sometimes downplay his achievements, but what he has done will go down as one of the most staggering achievements in the history of the sport.

And he is far from done. Unless Djokovic enters full-on beast mode - which he well might - it's hard to make a case for Nadal not lifting a 12th Coupe des Mousquetaires in two weeks' time.