Best of the rest: Zverev and Rublev among dark horses for French Open

Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic have won the last eight French Open titles but with the ageing Grand Slam champions nowhere near their best this year a new champion could be crowned.

Nadal, a 14-times champion at Roland Garros, has been beset by injuries in his final season on tour while Djokovic has failed to reach a final in 2024.

Meanwhile, young Grand Slam champions like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are also nursing injuries, making this year's French Open highly unpredictable.

That has opened the door for the likes of Alexander Zverev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev to step up and open their Grand Slam account.

Zverev has not had it easy since he injured his ankle in the 2022 French Open semi-final and underwent surgery, but the 27-year-old has peaked at the right time, winning his sixth Masters title at the Italian Open on Sunday.

"Obviously being there (at Roland Garros) three times in the semi-finals in a row, (I was) playing some of the best tennis of my life there when I injured my ankle," Zverev said.

"So in general it is always determined and marked in my calendar throughout the past few years. This year there's no exception.

"That's the one that I want to win. That's the one that I look forward to the most maybe throughout the year. I'm going to do everything I can this year and we'll see where I can end up."

Rublev, meanwhile, overcame the odds and battled through a suspected virus and an anaesthetised foot to win the Madrid Open before returning to the hospital to make a full recovery.

The 26-year-old Russian has fallen at the quarter-final hurdle at every Grand Slam but has two titles under his belt this season to give him a boost.

"For me was just to keep working, to keep trying to improve,