Sunday 29 May 2016 18:49, UK
The last 49 men's singles Grand Slam titles have been shared between just 10 players with the so-called 'big five' taking a stranglehold on the men's game.
Roger Federer (17), Rafael Nadal (14), Novak Djokovic (11), Stan Wawrinka (2) and Britain's Andy Murray (2) have shared an incredible 46 major crowns between them since Wimbledon in 2003.
So who is the next player to break the sequence? Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios are three next-generation players touted as serious Grand Slam contenders having all claimed ATP titles in recent years.
So what about the rest of the pack? There are a number of highly-talented young stars who could potentially cause and upset or two on the red stuff at Roland Garros.
Dynamic dark horse Kei Nishikori is a former US Open finalist and has the speed, agility and guile around the court to be regarded as the best outsider for the title.
The Japanese trailblazer collected his fourth Memphis crown earlier this year to take his total career titles to 11 but world No 1 Djokovic and clay-court king Nadal have been a major obstacle for the swashbuckling 26-year-old from collecting a big win on the dirt.
After losing out to the top-ranked Serb in the Miami final he was unable to retain his Barcelona crown against the Spaniard.
A semi-final defeat to Djokovic in Madrid followed and he then took the 11-time Grand Slam champion to three gruelling sets in the last four of the Rome Masters, but once again came out second best.
He had been plagued with injuries earlier in his career, and has been through physical wear and tear over the course of a major tournament before, which is one of the main reasons why he has failed to collect a major title.
But with American legend Michael Chang in the corner of the former world No 4, Nishikori has the shot-making ability and battling qualities to be a real contender in Paris.
Hard-hitting Canadian Milos Raonic laid down his French Open credentials with a blistering start to the year.
He won his eighth ATP singles title at the Brisbane International but has recently suffered consecutive quarter-final exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid to Murray and Djokovic - yes, those two again! After losing coach Ivan Ljubicic to Roger Federer leading into 2016, the 25-year-old got one back on the 17-time major winner in Brisbane before embarking on an impressive run at the Australian Open.
He looked to be on course for a place in the final after outplaying Murray for long periods. But leading two sets to one, he became increasingly hampered by an abductor injury, and struggled to push off and change direction. That resulted in a five-set defeat. "Probably the most heartbroken I've felt on court," Raonic said in his post-match press conference.
The physical and mental hurt from coming so close to a major final will be etched in his mind, but with tennis legend Carlos Moya on his team, the 6ft 5in former Wimbledon semi-finalist will hope his fans will 'believe in the sleeve' as he eyes his first major final and make up for his absence in Paris last year due to a foot injury.
If you're looking for excitement and controversy then look no further than Australia's Nick Kyrgios.
The 21-year-old Canberra star is regarded as 'the next big thing' Down Under and has the ability to play an expansive style of game which involves a world-class serve, an easy motion when striking through the ball and accurate shot-making most of the time. He also has a brash attitude and has as many headlines for his on-court misbehaviour as his outlandish talent.
The proud Australian of Greek and Malaysian heritage was involved in the infamous sledging incident against Stan Wawrinka when he received a suspended 28-day ban and a $25,000 fine for a vulgar comment he made towards the Swiss at the Rogers Cup in Montreal last year.
He began 2016 in eyebrow-raising fashion by answering his phone on court before a mixed doubles game at the Australian Open.
But he seems to have put his past misdemeanors behind him and recently demonstrated why he has been tipped for stardom by winning his first ATP title at the Marseille Open in February. He has also reached three other semi-finals and took Nadal to three sets in Rome.
The final player on the list is budding Austrian talent Dominic Thiem. His game has been harnessed by Boris Becker's first coach, Gunter Bresnik. At the age of 22, he has risen up the rankings at a speed of knots - he is currently world No 15.
At a rangy 6ft 1in and almost 13 stone, Thiem is a real athlete with a powerful forehand, a strong serve and nifty hands, although he admits needing to work more on his movement around the court.
Nicknamed 'Dominator' he demonstrated his versatility by winning in Buenos Aries, where he beat Nadal.
Thiem, who also won three titles on clay in 2015, then went on to triumph on the hard courts of Acapulco before finishing as runner-up to Philipp Kohlschreiber in Munich this year.
He heads to Paris having reached the quarter-finals in Rome where he put out Federer in the last 16 before falling to Nishikori in the last eight.
With the best of the rest, don't discount 13th-ranked David Goffin who reached back-to-back semi-finals in Indian Wells and Miami earlier this year.
Then there's teenage sensation Borna Coric who has finished as runner-up in Chennai and Marrakech in 2016.
The final player to keep a close eye on is 19-year-old German star Alexander Zverev. Nicknamed Sasha, he likes to serve big and is aggressive on his ground strokes and return which is why is has already climbed into the world top 50.
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So far this year world No 1 Djokovic has been in awe-inspiring form after winning the Australian Open. He's 37-3 for the season heading to Paris and has already collected five titles this year, including victory on the Madrid dirt.
World No 2 Murray has proved he can dig deep against the very best once again. He mastered Djokovic for only the second time since his Wimbledon win by conquering Rome to put him in high spirits heading to Roland Garros.
Then there's Nadal who seems to be reinvigorated and his vintage form and confidence has returned just in time for Paris as he aims to land an unprecedented 10th title.
Then there's Wawrinka, who may find it tough to retain the title he won in such dramatic style against Djokovic last year. The Swiss world No 4 has suffered a dip in form. He has an 18-7 win-loss record so far this season, despite collecting early-season titles in Chennai and Dubai. On Clay his best effort was a quarter-final spot in Monte Carlo, but everyone knows he can produce his best on the big occasion.
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