Top Contenders for the 2011 French Open

The 2011 French Open is ready to kick off this weekend and while the field is full of talented players on both side, everyone is not going to be able to earn the Grand Slam title.

Will Rafael Nadal be able to win his sixth French Open? Will top seeded Caroline Wozniacki win her first Grand Slam?

Maybe we will have the chance to see someone rise up from the ranks and knock off one of the heavy hitters.

We have already seen injuries take their toll on players like Andy Roddick and Juan Carlos Ferrero and force them to drop from the contest.

These are the players you should keep an eye on when the events unfold this Grand Slam.

The Men

Rafael Nadal

- When you have a 38-1 record at the French Open, it is not hard to see why you would be the heavy favorite to win the Grand Slam. Nadal's last loss came in 2009 to Robin Soderling. Everyone is curious to see how Nadal is going to react to his loss in the quarterfinals during the Australian Open in January.

Robin Soderling

- After starting with a 3-5 record at the French Open, Soderling has improved to 12-2 and reach the Finals in the last two years. Maybe this will be the year to break through.

Andy Murray

- Even though there has not been a British male champion for any Grand Slam since 1936, it does not mean you should count Andy Murray out. He is a definite dark horse candidate since he has been flying under the radar with a recent four-match losing streak.

Roger Federer

- Even though he owns the record for the most Grand Slam titles at 16, Federer has been less than successful in recent years with his last title being the 2010 Australian Open.

The Women

Caroline Wozniacki

- The top ranked Women's player in the world is looking to earn her first Grand Slam title. A good sign is her semifinals appearances she had in her last two major tournament.s

Kim Clisters

- If you are looking for the hottest player on the courts, it would have to be Clisters, who has won the last two Grand Slam events, the 2011 Australian Open and the 2010 US Open. The concern is Clisters has not played in the French Open since 2006.

Maria Sharapova

The tennis beauty has been solid in 2001 with a 21-6 match play and is looking to improve her performance at the French Open, the only Grand Slam event that she has never won. The closest she ever came was in 2009 when she reached the quarterfinals.

Vera Zvonareva

- If you want the dark horse candidate from the Women's side, look no further than Zvonareva. On the plus side, she did reach the Finals in the US Open and Wimbledon in 2010, but it is hard to overlook her disappointing performance on clay in 2011.