Tournament Preview:

The final Masters 1000 event of the season will once again host the game's best at the Paris Bercy. The 51st edition of the elite event will showcase 48 of the top players in the world, battling it out for a prestigious Masters 1000 title.

A surprising statistic heading into Paris this year remains that none of the top five seeds have ever captured the title in Bercy.

In fact, there are only four participating former champions in the draw, defending champ Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Nikolay Davydenko, Marat Safin, and Tomas Berdych.

Tsonga, who has dropped to the No. 11 position in the rankings, will need to defend his title in order to have a shot at qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour final in London.

Tsonga did suffer a left wrist injury last week in Valencia, forcing the Frenchman to withdraw in the first round.

Davydenko, who all but clinched his London spot with a solid performance in Valencia, will attempt to win the fourth Masters 1000 event of his career, after claiming his third title in Shanghai, China.

The final tournament of torn former No. 1 Safin will also take places this week, with the powerful Russian returning to his most successful Masters 1000 event, claiming the title in 2004, 2002, and 2000.

Berdych, who remains in the top 20 at No. 19, claimed his one and only Masters 1000 title in Paris, defeating Ivan Ljubicic in a five set thriller in 2005. Berdych remains an outside but solid candidate for the title his year.

The tournament, which boasts nine of the top 10 players in the world, lost world No. 6 Andy Roddick earlier in the week due to an ongoing knee injury. Roddick remains hopeful of participating at the Tour finale in London.

World No. 1 Roger Federer leads a deep field which consists of No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal, No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic, No. 4 seed Andy Murray and No. 5 seed Juan Martin del Potro.

The first-prize winner of the event will receive 450,000 euros and 1000 ATP World Tour points.

With the surface at Paris Bercy changing back to a hard court, the results throughout the event should remain more consistent. The previous carpet surface which the event was played on, provided a distinct advantage to a more powerful brand tennis.

With that mind, let's see how the top four seeds will shape up during the official final event of the season.

Federer quarter

Fresh off a glorious run in his native Basel, R-Fed returns to one of the few venues in the which he has not taken home the hardware.

In fact, Federer has yet to reach a semifinal in Bercy, falling in the quarterfinal stage on three occasions. The world No. 1 did not play the event last year, opting to rest a back injury.

Federer, who is undefeated in the quarter against the 11 players present, encounter a lone defeat to countryman and Olympic gold medal partner Stanislas Wawrinka at the Monte Carlo Masters earlier this season.

Federer is slated to meet Wawrinka in the third round, with No. 15 seed Gael Monfils being another formidable opponent along the way.

Monfils all but ended his chances at qualifying for the London finale with his loss to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in Valencia last week.

Monfils is playing at home however and would like nothing more than to ignite the hometown fans with a productive end to the season.

Marin Cilic, who holds an outside chance at qualifying for London, could face Federer in the quarterfinals.

Cilic would likely have to defeat No. 7 seed Fernando Verdasco in the third round, but with the Spaniard all but qualifying for London with a stellar showing in Valencia last week, a sharp Cilic may be the best candidate for a showdown with Federer.

The top-ranked Swiss holds a week of rest between Paris and London, further exemplifying why he will likely surpass, or at least equal his best-ever quarterfinal finish in Bercy.

Barring a catastrophe of sorts, look for Federer to come out of this quarter with a keen outlook to his first Bercy title.

Pick: Federer

Nadal quarter

Playing in only his third Bercy event, the Spaniard comes into Paris in search of his first title since capturing his fifth straight Barcelona Open crown in the spring.

Nadal, a finalist at the Paris Indoors in 2007, has a tricky quarter which includes defending champ Tsonga, former champ Berdych, Gilles Simon, and countryman Tommy Robredo.

Tsonga would likely provide the stiffest resistance to Nadal claiming his seventh different Masters 1000 title. The Frenchman is playing hurt, but will use the electricity of his home country supporters to advance to the latter stages of the event.

Marco Chiudinelli, who could face Nadal in the second round, must defeat Nicolas Almagro in round one. Chiudinelli advanced to his first semifinal of the season in Basel last week (lost to Federer).

Chiudinelli will likely be spent by his Switzerland performance, allowing Almagro to have a slight advantage going into their first round encounter.

Berdych, who has defeated Nadal on three occasions (all on hard courts), could pose a significant threat to Nadal in the third round. Berdych has just the kind of game to make a late-season charge and defeat the Spaniard.

Robredo, who is the slated to meet Nadal in the third round, would have to get by Berdych in round two.

Frenchman Simon, who was eliminated from qualifying from the London finale after losing to Mikhail Youzhny in Valenica, remains another hometown hopeful willing to give his all during the last event of the season.

Simon's roadrunner style could challenge Nadal if the pair met in the quarterfinals. Simon is slated to meet Tsonga in the third round, a match which be relished by the Parisian fans.

All in all, Nadal's quarter is by no means a cakewalk. The Spaniard has shown the vulnerability of getting whacked off the court on more than one occasion this season, and in the event that Tsonga is fully healed from his wrist injury, the Frenchman should make a confident charge to defending his title.

With that being said, Nadal seems fit and rested; a claim he has not been able to make at this juncture during previous seasons.

Pick: Nadal

Djokovic quarter

With a new lease on his young career, the Serbian sensation appears to have a clean grasp on his upcoming goals.

Djokovic, who has been in good form since the US Open, will have to be cautious in this section, with the likes of Nikolay Davydenko, Robin Sodering, Tommy Haas, Ivo Karlovic, Feliciano Lopez, and Jeremy Chardy present.

Davydenko has played virtually ever week since the end of the US Open, mounting his charge to finals showing in London.

The Russian can never be counted out of a Masters 1000 event, recently adding the Shanghai crown to his Masters 1000 collection.

Davydenko would have to get through either Soderling or Karlovic to set up a showdown with Djokovic, with both power hitters eager to finish their years off with a flourish.

Soderling is back on Tour after suffering a right elbow injury in Stockholm, while Karlovic, who has lost sixth straight matches on the circuit, dearly needs a few wins to boost his confidence.

Haas, who was recently diagnosed with the swine flu, could face Djokovic in the third round. Haas defeated Djokovic in consecutive events at Halle and Wimbledon this summer.

Lopez, who has gathered some steam in recent weeks, looks to be a better bet of reaching a third round clash with Djokovic.

Lopez could be the surprise story in this quarter, finally exhibiting the level of professionalism required to compete on Tour.

This could very well be the section where chaos reigns through and either Lopez or Karlovic make the semifinals.

Djokovic still remains the favorite, but with an upset having to take place at some point, the Serbian appears to be the prime candidate in taking a fall.

Pick: Karlovic

Murray quarter

Murray was granted little favors in this brutal quadrant. Apart from having Grand Slam champs del Potro and Safin present, Murray will have to combat the likes of Fernando Gonzalez, Radek Stepanek, James Blake, John Isner, and Fabrice Santoro, if he is to make the quarterfinals.

Starting off with Blake or Santoro, Murray will be assured a stern baseline challenge from the get go. Blake, who has plummeted to No. 41 in the world, seems to be in a ninth inning rebuilding mode in his career, via a new coach and ambitions of returning to the top 10.

Blake's forehand can never be counted out, and if he is in the zone, Murray may be in trouble.

Santoro, who has put retirement plans on hold for the moment, opting to play in next years Australian Open, would bring an off speed look to a match up with Scot.

Santoro's soft hands and x-ray anticipation could handcuff Murray in his attempt at capturing his fifth Masters 1000 title.

Stepanek and Gonzalez will be playing with much more to lose than Murray this week. Both players are still in contention to qualify for London, with Gonzalez, who stands at No. 10 in race, needing to win to event in order to book his top eight spot.

Gonzalez has cooled off considerably after reaching the US Open quarterfinals, leaving Stepanek's serve-and-volley game with a better shot at upending Murray.

Three-time winner Marat Safin will close out his famed career with what he hopes is a respectable run in Paris. The Russian opens against a qualifier, with No. 5 seed del Potro waiting in round two.

Del Potro, who remains winless after capturing his maiden Slam title in New York, will look to snap a two-match losing streak against Safin if that match takes place.

Safin does have a chance at stirring up an upset against del Potro, considering the Argentine is still recovering from a wrist injury.

Either way, a Safin-Murray, or del Potro-Murray quarterfinal clash would leave the Paris fans with nothing short of their monies worth.

All in all, Murray will have to get his punch card ready if he is to persevere in this quarter. The Scot displayed fine form in Valencia last week, showing ill effects from his recent left wrist injury.

It remains to be seen what kind of tennis del Potro and Safin bring forth; both power players have exhibited frail form as of late.

However, del Potro may have saved himself for a final push this season, leaving the rest of this quarter in danger of finishing second.

This quarter was truly the toughest to predict, but with that be said, Murray and del Potro remain the true standouts.

Pick: del Potro

Bercy has brought forth many surprise winners over the years, with this year's event capable of producing another first time champion.

Please check back throughout the week for continuing daily coverage from the final Masters 1000 event of season from Paris.