FRENCH OPEN No clear favorite emerges in Paris

Juan Carlos Ferrero, the defending men's champion, has a lot of competition.
By HOWARD FENDRICH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PARIS -- Heading into the 2003 French Open, Andy Roddick, Roger Federer and Juan Carlos Ferrero were brimming with potential and had little to show for it.
None had won a Grand Slam tournament title, and they could boast of only one appearance in a major final among them. Roland Garros changed everything.
For a second straight year, Roddick and Federer lost in the first round to relative nobodies. Both rededicated themselves immediately, with Roddick splitting from his coach and hiring Brad Gilbert while the French Open was in progress. That worked out well: Roddick reached the Wimbledon semifinals a few weeks later, then won the U.S. Open and ended the year ranked No. 1.
Now is No. 1
Federer told himself, "Enough of these Grand Slam flops," summoned up fresh resolve, and won Wimbledon. He added the Australian Open to his resume in January, sparking talk of a Grand Slam bid, and now is No. 1.
And Ferrero? All he did was win the thing, ending a maddening string of near-misses at Roland Garros. Full of confidence, he made the U.S. Open final.
So who's this year's favorite -- or likeliest flop -- at the French Open, where play starts Monday? As usual on the red clay, the titles appear to be up for grabs.
While the men have a ton of contenders, the women have a ton of injuries. Defending champion Justine Henin-Hardenne last played six weeks ago, Serena and Venus Williams haven't been healthy at the same time in more than a year, and Kim Clijsters pulled out with a bad wrist. Here and healthy? Martina Navratilova, playing in her first major in 10 years at age 47 with a wild-card entry.
His greatest asset
Roddick, for one, doesn't enter with outsized expectations, knowing the surface tends to dull his greatest asset -- a serve that's reached a record 152 mph.
"My first goal is to get past the first round this year, unlike the last two," he said. "It's just a matter of being consistent on clay. When I'm not playing my best tennis, it shows more on the dirty stuff. Things need to go my way. If it's dry, and the court plays a little faster, that's preferable. But at the same time, I choose to believe that I do have a chance."
Several other men figure they have a shot, too, though each also might have reason for doubt.
Agassi still dictates points as well as anyone, but he just turned 34 and lost his only match since March to a player ranked 339th. Guillermo Coria compiled a 31-match clay winning streak and looked superb until losing the Hamburg Masters final to Federer. But the 5-foot-9, 145-pound Argentine has yet to show he can withstand the pounding of seven best-of-5 set matches at a major.
Clay not his favorite
Former No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt has slipped to No. 12, and clay's never been his favorite surface, while 1998 French Open champion Carlos Moya hasn't seen a Slam semifinal since that year. And who knows which Marat Safin will show up: the 2000 U.S. Open champion and two-time Australian Open finalist, or the racket-smashing mutterer who ended last year with six consecutive losses?
Federer and Ferrero carry question marks, too: Federer split with his coach; Ferrero has logged little time on court this season.
"It's pretty tough to say that one guy is clearly the guy," U.S. Davis Cup captain Patrick McEnroe said. "There's just too much depth at the top of the game, and there's great young players that are winning the big tournaments."
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