French Open 2012 Draw: Players Who Will Challenge Favorites at Roland Garros

There is an upper class in the tennis world heading into the French Open and a field of players looking to upset the usual contenders.

Since 2010, Rafael Nadal (4), Novak Djokovic (4) and Roger Federer (1) have won every Grand Slam tournament. In fact, only one other player since 2006 (Juan Martin del Potro at the 2009 US Open) has won a Grand Slam.

So naturally, those three are considered the heavy favorites at Roland Garros. Namely Djokovic, who has won three straight Grand Slams, and Nadal, who has won six of the last seven French Open titles.

This begs the question: Can anyone else from the field knock off these three titans of the game? Is a possible upset in the works? And if anyone were to pull off a shocking win, who would that man be?

I've got a few ideas about that very subject.

The primary suspect to crack the top three is Andy Murray. He's got to break through at a Grand Slam at some point, right? Why not in France?

He advanced to the semifinals of the tournament last year, where he lost to eventual champion Nadal in straight sets. And he's now reached at least the semifinals in five straight Grand Slam tournaments, so he's knocking on the door.

Murray is the fourth-ranked player in the world, and he looks poised for a breakthrough sooner than later. It would be a surprise, but not a shock, if he went the distance at Roland Garros.

After that, the field gets murkier. David Ferrer has three titles this season, but he's 0-5 against the top three in 2012.

Del Potro is the last man to crack through and win a Grand Slam other than the top three, and he has two titles this year to his credit. But he's 0-4 against Federer this year and hasn't faced either Djokovic or Nadal.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is the fifth-ranked player in the world and has the talent to knock off anyone he faces. Plus, he knocked of Federer in the semifinals of the ATP Qatar ExxonMobil Open, so he's shown promise against the top guns of late.

And he had success against the top three last year, going 5-9 against the trio, so you know he won't be intimidated by the big boys.

My guess?

If anyone will crack through in this tournament, it will be either Murray or Tsonga. I know, I know, not exactly going out on a limb there, but the truth is often boring.

But if we're being honest, this tournament should belong to Djokovic and Nadal. They may be challenged along the way, but anything less than a final between the two would be very surprising.

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