Men to watch at the French Open, which begins Sunday (rankings in parentheses):

ROGER FEDERER (1)

Age: 26

Country: Switzerland

2008 Match Record: 26-7

2008 Singles Titles: 1

Career Singles Titles: 54

Major Titles: 12 — Wimbledon ('03, '04, '05, '06, '07), U.S. Open ('04, '05, '06, '07), Australian Open ('04, '06, '07)

Last 5 French Opens: '07-Lost in Final, '06-Lost in Final, '05-Lost in Semifinals, '04-Lost in 3rd Round, '03-Lost in 1st Round

Topspin: Only Grand Slam tournament he hasn't won. ... Trying again to become only sixth man with a career Slam — at least one title at each major. ... Lost at French Open to eventual champion Rafael Nadal the past three years. ... No. 1 since Feb. 2, 2004, the longest consecutive stay ever atop the computer rankings.

RAFAEL NADAL (2)

Age: 21 (22 on June 3)

Country: Spain

2008 Match Record: 37-7

2008 Singles Titles: 3

Career Singles Titles: 26

Major Titles: 3 — French Open ('05, '06, '07)

Last 5 French Opens: '07-Won Championship, '06-Won Championship, '05-Won Championship, '04-Did Not Play, '03-DNP

Topspin: Attempting to become second man to win four consecutive French Open titles; Bjorn Borg did it from 1978-81. ... Has won 108 of his past 110 matches on clay — including a record 81-match winning streak — but one of his losses came this month in the second round of the Rome Masters. ... Rebounded by beating Novak Djokovic in the semifinals and Roger Federer in the final to take Hamburg Masters title.

NOVAK DJOKOVIC (3)

Age: 21

Country: Serbia

2008 Match Record: 28-6

2008 Singles Titles: 3

Career Singles Titles: 10

Major Titles: 1 — Australian Open ('08)

Last 5 French Opens: '07-SF, '06-QF, '05-2nd, '04-DNP, '03-DNP

Topspin: Ranked No. 6 a year ago at this time, now has firmly entrenched himself at No. 3 — and closing in on Nadal. ... Semifinalist or better at each of past four major championships.

NIKOLAY DAVYDENKO (4)

Age: 26 (27 on June 2)

Country: Russia

2008 Match Record: 32-9

2008 Singles Titles: 2

Career Singles Titles: 13

Major Titles: 0 — Best: SF, at French in '05 and '07, U.S. in '06 and '07

Last 5 French Opens: '07-SF, '06-QF, '05-SF, '04-1st, '03-2nd

Topspin: ATP still investigating irregular betting on a match he played in August 2007. ... Leads tour in three of top four service return statistics.

DAVID NALBANDIAN (7)

Age: 26

Country: Argentina

2008 Match Record: 20-7

2008 Singles Titles: 1

Career Singles Titles: 8

Major Titles: 0 — Best: F, at Wimbledon in '02

Last 5 French Opens: '07-4th, '06-SF, '05-4th, '04-SF, '03-2nd

Topspin: Reached at least semifinals at a major five times — but also failed to make it past fourth round at any of past seven Grand Slam tournaments.

JAMES BLAKE (8)

Age: 28

Country: United States

2008 Match Record: 25-10

2008 Singles Titles: 0

Career Singles Titles: 10

Major Titles: 0 — Best: QF, at U.S. in '05 and '06

Last 5 French Opens: '07-1st, '06-3rd, '05-2nd, '04-DNP, '03-2nd

Topspin: With Andy Roddick sidelined by a shoulder injury, is highest-ranked U.S. man in the field. ... Lost three of first five matches on European clay-court circuit. ... What he said before last year's French Open: "If it's a first-round loss, but I did my best, I'll have to be happy with that." He lost in the first round.

RICHARD GASQUET (9)

Age: 21

Country: France

2008 Match Record: 10-10

2008 Singles Titles: 0

Career Singles Titles: 5

Major Titles: 0 — Best: SF, at Wimbledon in '08

Last 5 French Opens: '07-2nd, '06-2nd, '05-3rd, '04-1st, '03-1st

Topspin: Best local hope for a strong showing, now that Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired from a match Friday because of a knee injury. ... Blamed a back problem for recent three-match losing streak, but said he never considered pulling out of French Open.

GUSTAVO KUERTEN (1,140)

Age: 31

Country: Brazil

2008 Match Record: 0-3

2008 Singles Titles: 0

Career Singles Titles: 20

Major Titles: 3 — French Open ('97, '00, '01)

Last 5 French Opens: '07-DNP, '06-DNP, '05-1st, '04-QF, '03-4th

Topspin: Three-time Roland Garros champion and former No. 1-ranked man given wild card so he could bid farewell in what probably will be final tournament of his career. ... Hampered by hip problem, limited to 14 matches over the past three seasons.