2012 French Open: The Front-Runners Vying for the Men's Singles Crown

If the ATP Tour was traded as a stock in the Dow Jones or London Stock Exchange, the stock might be doing very well—maybe as good as the numbers of technology giant Apple.

The top four players are incomparable in terms of their capabilities, achievements, market-power and stamina. They will start the next Grand Slam of 2012 with the best eligibility to take the crown.

Rafael Nadal, as usual will be the front-runner on a surface that he literally owns. But, what about the rest of the crowd?

Will there be a new contender?

Let us look at five more players who have the potential to create an upset or two at Paris. You may not have heard of them before, but watch out for them, now!

Janko Tipsarevic: Yet Another Djoker?

Janko Tipsarevic broke into the top 10 late in 2011 after a series of consistent performances. A quarterfinal appearance at the US Open was the icing on the cake.

Tipsarevic replaced Andy Murray at the ATP World Tour Finals in London and went on to beat fellow Serb Djokovic but couldn’t reach the latter round. 

A former winner of the Junior Australian Open, Tipsarevic prefers the slow courts—no doubt his favorite.

Will Tipsarevic emulate the work of his countryman?

Gilles Simon: Master Tactician

Gilles Simon was once ranked as high as Six but has ceded his country’s No.1 status to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Known for his backhand, Simon has been consistent in the last few years (top 15 for the third time in four years).

An expert for his last-minute changes on his shots, and thus, surprising his opponents, Simon has the material to go further.

With his home-crowd rooting for him, Simon will be a tough opponent for anyone.

Nicolas Almagro: Clay-Court Specialist

Nicolas Almagro is famous for his fast services as well as his emotions on the court.

Another Spanish Matador, Almagro has had his successes on the ATP circuit mainly on the clay courts.

His 32 match wins on clay was a tour-best in 2011.

Will he repeat the success this year as well and climb higher?

Will he be the one to stop Nadal in his tracks?

Alexandr Dolgopolov: An Early Starter to the Tour

The top-ranked Ukrainian, Alexandr Dolgopolov’s father used to be the coach of Andrei Medvedev.

Thus, Dolgopolov lived on the tour in his childhood days, traveling frequently and playing players such as Medvedev, Andre Agassi and Boris Becker.

Dolgopolov reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open in 2011 (but couldn’t emulate it in 2012) en route to a finish in the top 20.

Alexandr will be looking forward to Roland Garros for a better performance on his favourite surface. 

Feliciano Lopez: Started Early but Fallen Behind

Another Spanish player rounds out this list—Feliciano Lopez.

Lopez took an early lead over his countrymen by reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2005.

Subsequently, Lopez finished in the top 20 for first time in his career in 2011. Two other quarterfinal appearances at Wimbledon do not give full justice to his potential. 

Will Roland Garros give him an opportunity to move up the pecking order?