With Federer out of the mix, who will challenge Nadal at the French Open?

In a paradox of sorts, none of the favourites, barring Nadal, has exhibited any kind of prolonged Grand Slam solidity in the past

Eleven. That is what Rafael Nadal wants: 11 French Open titles. To put the preposterous nature of this chase into context, Rod Laver — often hailed as the greatest player ever before Roger Federer made us suspect otherwise — won a total of 11 Grand Slams. Ditto for Björn Borg. Other “truly great” players, such as Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi, only managed a haul of eight each. John McEnroe, another special talent, has seven.
 

Till about a month ago, the question on everyone’s minds wasn’t so much who would be able to beat him but, instead, largely