There was a time when the three certainties in life were death, taxes and Rafael Nadal winning the French Open. 

The Spanish bull has lifted the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy on a record 13 occasions. Few would discount a 14th triumph but the 35-year-old has been troubled by foot and rib injuries in the past 12 months.

At last year's French Open, Nadal lost an epic semi-final to the eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Since then, the exciting Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz has had a rapid rise.

At the recent Madrid Open, the 19-year-old became the first player to beat modern greats Nadal and Djokovic in the same tournament on clay. Within three days, he took care of Nadal, Djokovic and then the world number three Alexander Zverev in the final.

"It's an amazing story, I don't think we've seen someone with such flair and capability and natural talent since the man that he's always revered, who is Rafa," commentator and former tour player Louise Pleming told ABC Sport.

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Commentator and six-time grand slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs believes the world number six Alcaraz is headed for the top.

"There is a real chance that he can be number one in the world by the end of the year," Stubbs told the Court-Side with Beilinson tennis podcast.

Alcaraz following in Nadal's footsteps

The emergence of Alcaraz is similar to the way a 19-year-old Nadal took the tennis world by storm by winning the French Open at his first attempt in 2005. Now a wise veteran, Nadal is not surprised by the hype surrounding his young countryman.

"He's new and all the new things are much more interesting," Nadal said at the Italian Open earlier this month.

"When you see a new car, it always looks better, when you see a new phone, it always looks better than the old one.

Alcaraz is coached by a man who knows how to win the French Open. Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero lifted the trophy in 2003. His pupil has won four tournaments this year and is the youngest to win the ATP events at Rio, Miami, and Madrid.

"He has no weakness in his game, zero," Stubbs said.

"I love the fact that he actually goes into the net a tremendous amount to finish points off.

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Motivated Djokovic in ominous form

Djokovic himself is hitting form at the right time after beating world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the Italian Open final. The unvaccinated world number one won't be lacking motivation after being deported from Melbourne before January's Australian Open. A triumph at Roland Garros would put the Serb back alongside Nadal for the most men's grand slam singles titles (21).

 "I feel he is very much an inspired man at the moment," Pleming said.

"The form that he was in at Rome, he didn't drop a set there which is phenomenal.

Alcaraz is yet to make his mark in the majors. The best performance in his fledgling career was reaching the quarter-finals of last year's US Open, when a leg injury forced his retirement in the second set against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

"Is this just a little bit early for Alcaraz?" Pleming said.

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Super Świątek the one to beat

The women's tournament will be the first grand slam since Australia's Ash Barty announced her shock retirement while ranked world number one.

Iga Świątek will start the white-hot favourite. The top-ranked Pole has won five tournaments in succession. During that stretch, she's reeled off 28 wins and dropped only five sets.

If Świątek is victorious at the French Open, she'll equal Venus Williams's 35 straight victories from the year 2000, which is the best winning streak by a female this century.

Świątek was a surprise French Open winner in 2020, but her opponents will know all about her this time. Whether they can stop her is another matter altogether.

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"Gosh that seems like the impossible mission at the moment," Pleming said.

"I love the way that she plays, she's really taken the baton from Ash Barty.

Despite being only 20, Świątek has shown no signs of being overwhelmed by the pressure that comes with being expected to win a grand slam.

"For sure the expectations around are higher, but I never had a problem to cut it off and not to think about it," Świątek said after winning the Italian Open earlier this month.

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"Also I'm gaining experience at that, with more and more tournaments it's going to get better for me to cope with all of that."

Claycourt contenders with a shot at grand slam glory

There are numerous players in the draw who have the clay court expertise to challenge for the title.

World number two Barbora Krejcikova is the defending champion, while world number four Maria Sakkari made the semi-finals last year.

Ons Jabeur was on an 11-match winning streak until being swept aside by Świątek in the Italian Open final. Stubbs expects the world number six from Tunisia to perform well in Paris.

 "The variety of her game, she plays a little bit like Ash, she uses the slice backhand so beautifully, she has a better two hander than Ash ever did," Stubbs said.

Pleming believes Jabeur is one of the few players capable of upsetting Świątek at Roland Garros.

"It's great to see players that play differently to everybody else, they get to mix it up, they make the other players more uncomfortable than the players who play that hard-hitting aggressive game style."

Whoever wants to win the French Open is likely to face the task of overcoming a former French Open champion in irresistible form, who loves playing on the red clay at Roland Garros.

"To win a grand slam, it makes it a whole lot easier if you know you've already done it."