(May 25, 2013) Profiles of the top Men’s Singles contenders for the 2013 French Open. Note: Grand Slam records for main draw matches only. – by Jack Cunniff http://twitter.com/jrcunniff
2013 Record: 28-4
Grand Slam Record: 141-27
French Open Record: 31-8
French Open Best Result: RU (2012)
Fast Fact: Djokovic has the 5th best Grand Slam winning percentage in the Open Era, trailing only Borg, Nadal, Federer, and Sampras .
2013 Record: 18-6
Grand Slam Record: 252-38
French Open Record: 54-13
French Open Best Result: W (2009)
Fast Fact: This marks the 40th consecutive Grand Slam (and 10 straight years) that Federer has been seeded among the Top Four.
3. Rafael Nadal
2013 Record: 36-2
Grand Slam Record: 157-22
French Open Record: 52-1
French Open Best Result: W (2005-‘08, 2010-‘12)
Fast Fact: Only five men in the French Open draw have defeated Nadal on clay (Djokovic, Federer, Ferrer, Verdasco, Zeballos), and none of them have defeated him at Roland Garros.
4. David Ferrer
2013 Record: 31-9
Grand Slam Record: 97-41
French Open Record: 26-10
French Open Best Result: SF (2012)
Fast Fact: Ferrer has not defeated a Top Ten opponent in 2013.
5. Tomas Berdych
2013 Record: 29-10
Grand Slam Record: 81-38
French Open Record: 13-9
French Open Best Result: SF (2010)
Fast Fact: Berdych has been ranked in the Top Ten for 150 consecutive weeks, but has never cracked the Top Five.
6. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
2013 Record: 21-8
Grand Slam Record: 66-22
French Open Record: 12-5
French Open Best Result: QF (2012)
Fast Fact: Tsonga is the only player to have beaten each of the “Big 4” (Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray) at a Grand Slam event.
7. Richard Gasquet
2013 Record: 25-8
Grand Slam Record: 57-33
French Open Record: 10-9
French Open Best Result: 4R (2011, 2012)
Fast Fact: Seven of Gasquet’s last eight Grand Slam appearances have ended in a 4R loss.
8. Janko Tipsarevic
2013 Record: 11-11
Grand Slam Record: 44-36
French Open Record: 10-9
French Open Best Result: 4R (2012)
Fast Fact: Entering the 2012 French Open, Tipsarevic had 26 match wins for the year; but only 11 match wins this year entering the 2013 event.
9. Stanislas Wawrinka
2013 Record: 26-9
Grand Slam Record: 60-32
French Open Record: 16-8
French Open Best Result: 4R (2010-‘12)
Fast Fact: Wawrinka has won 19 matches on clay in 2013, the second highest total behind only Nadal.
10. Marin Cilic
2013 Record: 18-9
Grand Slam Record: 46-23
French Open Record: 9-6
French Open Best Result: 4R (2009-‘10)
Fast Fact: In the past 10 months, Cilic has advanced past the quarterfinals of an event only once (Zagreb, where he won the title).
11. Nicolas Almagro
2013 Record: 23-11
Grand Slam Record: 51-34
French Open Record: 17-9
French Open Best Result: QF (2008, ‘10, ‘12)
Fast Fact: Almagro could pass the $8 million dollar mark in career earnings by reaching the 3R of the French Open.
12. Tommy Haas
2013 Record: 20-9
Grand Slam Record: 95-50
French Open Record: 17-11
French Open Best Result: 4R (2002, ‘09)
Fast Fact: At age 35, Haas becomes the oldest Top 16 French Open seed since Jimmy Connors (36) in 1989. (Andre Agassi was three weeks younger than Haas’ current age in 2005.)
13. Kei Nishikori
2013 Record: 19-8
Grand Slam Record: 20-14
French Open Record: 2-2
French Open Best Result: 2R (2010-‘11)
Fast Fact: Of 23 best-of-three set matches in 2013, Nishikori’s played three sets only one time: a victory over Federer.
14. Milos Raonic
2013 Record: 18-8
Grand Slam Record: 15-9
French Open Record: 2-2
French Open Best Result: 3R (2012)
Fast Fact: Raonic is currently the highest ranked ATP player who has never reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal.